All of Mowi’s Campbell River fish farms now ASC certified

ASC Certification is validation that fish farms are being operated to the world’s highest standards in British Columbia

By SeaWestNews

Mowi Canada West has made another step towards its goal of achieving Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) certification at all its salmon farms in British Columbia.

 Mowi’s Lees Bay farm has become the 24th Mowi salmon farm in B.C. to achieve certification to the ASC Salmon Standard, the 7th in the Campbell River production area, according to a company statement.

All Mowi salmon farms in the Campbell River area are now certified to the independent third-party certification, the company said.

“I am proud of the work of our staff, their commitment to the health and quality of the fish they are raising, and their commitment to the local community,” said Mowi Canada West Managing Director Dr. Diane Morrison.

“Our team in B.C. continues to innovate and improve practices. Achieving 100% certification in the Campbell River production area is validation that our farms are being operated to the world’s highest standards.”

To achieve certification under the ASC Salmon Standard, farms are audited against 500 separate aspects of the site’s performance. It is considered to be the gold standard in environmental and social certification.

B.C.’s farm-raised salmon sector is one of the world’s most closely regulated and transparent industries, states the B.C. Salmon Farmers Association (BCSFA).

 Annually, Fisheries and Oceans Canada posts at least 22 different reports on regulated salmon farming practices in B.C. with many identified to the farm-level.

There are 118 marine finfish aquaculture farms and 20 land-based farms in B.C. They ocean farms occupy less than 0.05 of B.C.’s coast and only about 60–70 salmon farm tenures are active at any one time.

BCSFA members have made a commitment to meet the requirements of the world’s top independent, audited, third-party certification systems – including certifying all Atlantic salmon farms to the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) standard by 2020.

So far, Mowi Canada West has certified more farms to the ASC salmon standard than any company in North America.

It operates salmon farms and processing plants in British Columbia, Canada, where 600 people raise 45,000 tonnes of sustainable Atlantic salmon each year. Mowi Canada West is part of the Mowi ASA group, the world’s largest producer of Atlantic salmon and  80% of Mowi Canada West production is now ASC certified.

(picture courtesy of Mowi)