Over 45,000 wildlife species are at risk of extinction, many of them occurring in environments suitable for aquaculture.2323IUCN. (2024). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2024-1. https://www.iucnredlist.org Human-wildlife interactions can occur in numerous ways, from direct Human-Wildlife Conflict with animals to disruption of migration routes, disturbance to diurnal cycles or alteration of local food availability.

Aquaculture operations may result in human-wildlife interactions and conflict in many ways. Farms may rely on wildlife directly for collection of larvae, juveniles, or breeding stock. Their vessels, infrastructure, or equipment may disturb or interact with wildlife. They may also use deterrent devices to discourage predators or pests from approaching pens or cages. Risk to wildlife from these interactions should be assessed and mitigated and, when injuries or mortalities do occur, corrective measures need to be put into place to avoid similar future occurrences.

This Criterion focuses on the minimisation of ASC-certified farms’ interaction with wildlife to reduce injury and mortalities, especially interactions involving threatened or endangered species.

Intent – The aquaculture industry prioritises the protection of threatened species by minimising negative interactions with wildlife.

Conversion and fragmentation of habitats is a leading driver of biodiversity loss.1818Crooks, K. R., Burdett, C. L., Theobald, D. M., King, S. R., Di Marco, M., Rondinini, C., & Quantification of habitat fragmentation reveals extinction risk in terrestrial mammals. Proceedings of the national Academy of Sciences, 114(29), 7635-7640. Boitani, L. (2017). Wetlands are particularly important in promoting biodiversity, as they provide breeding and nursery grounds for native species, supporting ecological services like water purification, and increasing environmental resilience to threats like storms, floods and climate change.1919Liquete, C., Piroddi, C., Drakou, E. G., Gurney, L., Katsanevakis, S., Charef, A., & Egoh, B. (2013). Current status and future prospects for the assessment of marine and coastal ecosystem services: A systematic review. PloS one, 8(7), e67737.

Aquaculture production can drive conversion and fragmentation of ecologically important habitats if improperly sited. Farms sited in protected or sensitive habitats can affect local biodiversity and the ecological services these environments provide. Loss of wetlands has been historically linked to expansion of aquaculture in tropical regions. Sited and operated with consideration paid to important habitats, aquaculture can benefit from the many services that suitable sites provide while minimising these negative impacts.2020¹⁷ Aguilar-Manjarrez, J., Soto, D., & Brummett, R. (2017). Aquaculture zoning, site selection and area management under the ecosystem approach to aquaculture. A handbook. Rome, Italy: FAO.

This Criterion focuses on requirements for where ASC-certified farms can be situated to reduce impacts on local biodiversity, restricts conversion of ecologically important habitats and requires rehabilitation of previously converted wetlands.

Intent – The aquaculture industry preserves habitat that is important for biodiversity.

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All human activities can have negative impacts on the surrounding environment. Understanding the likelihood of negative impacts occurring from an activity, and the magnitude of that impact, requires a risk-based approach. An Environmental Risk Assessment (ERA) is a useful tool to help identify the environmental risks associated with an activity along with actions to help mitigate those risks.

Aquaculture operations take place in a wide variety of environments and contexts. Defining a farm’s particular risks and environmental impacts requires a site-specific evaluation that considers the context-relevant risks for that farm.1717Andersen, L. B., Grefsrud, E. S., Svåsand, T., & Sandlund, N. (2022). Risk understanding and risk acknowledgement: a new approach to environmental risk assessment in marine aquaculture. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 79(4), 987-996. https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsac028

This Criterion requires that ASC-certified farms identify their potential environmental impacts by conducting an ERA and mitigating identified risks accordingly.

Intent – The aquaculture industry performs comprehensive environmental assessments to address site-specific risks.

Rationale

The aquaculture industry is ideally positioned to help provide the food needed to support a growing global population due to its smaller environmental footprint than many land-based animal sources. Maintaining this advantage requires ongoing stewardship of the environmental impacts. Through the initiatives outlined in this principle, ASC supports the industry to develop in an environmentally responsible manner to meet this challenge.

Aquaculture relies on ecosystems to provide resources, including water, as well as the absorption of its outputs, including waste from farm processes, to operate.1414Gephart, J. A., Henriksson, P. J., Parker, R. W., Shepon, A., Gorospe, K. D., Bergman, K., … & Troell, M. (2021). Environmental performance of blue foods. Nature, 597(7876), 360-365. Without proper management, the environment’s capacity to keep providing these resources and assuming these outputs can be exceeded, leading to concerns about biodiversity loss, greenhouse gas emissions that drive climate change, and inefficient resource use.

This principle’s criteria focus on effective resource management, efficient feed use, safe waste disposal – including handling hazardous materials and plastics – and re-use of biosolids. Through these means, ASC-certified farms manage their inputs from, and outputs into, the ecosystem responsibly and contribute to a circular economy (recycling and reusing existing materials to extend their life cycle1515Chary, K., van Riel, A. J., Muscat, A., Wilfart, A., Harchaoui, S., Verdegem, M., … & Wiegertjes, G. F. (2024). Transforming sustainable aquaculture by applying circularity principles. Reviews in Aquaculture, 16(2), 656-673.).

Aquaculture farms affect nearby habitats and species through both siting and operational activities. Choosing farm sites carefully is crucial to protect ecologically sensitive areas and managing farm practices is equally important. This includes managing benthic impacts, controlling nutrient release into open waters, reducing wildlife conflict, and preventing farmed animals from escaping and affecting native biodiversity. Addressing these challenges is key to tackling global biodiversity loss1616Aguilar-Manjarrez, J., Soto, D., & Brummett, R. (2017) Aquaculture zoning, site selection and area management under the ecosystem approach to aquaculture. A handbook. Rome, Italy: FAO..