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The Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) has pushed back the mandatory transition date for its Farm Standard by one year, giving certified farms until 1 May 2028 to complete the move from existing species-specific standards.
The deadline had previously been set for 1 May 2027. ASC said the extension was intended to give farmers more flexibility while it continues to work on guidance, tools and support for implementation.
Meanwhile, the organisation has also released an interim version of the Farm Standard, which came into effect on 1 July 2026, and will apply until 1 February 2027.
The ASC said this is intended to act as a bridge while work continues on the next full version of the standard, and temporarily pauses auditing against a small number of requirements that are still under review. The organisation said this would give farms greater certainty while it refines the next version, Farm Standard V1.1, which it aims to publish on 1 November 2026, subject to its governance and approval processes.
“These decisions reflect our commitment to supporting successful adoption of the standard while maintaining its overall ambition and direction,” said Ally Dingwall, ASC chief technical officer.
“The extended transition period provides greater flexibility for farmers and allows us to continue developing the tools, guidance and support needed to help farms transition successfully. We will keep working closely with farmers and auditors throughout this process to ensure they have the resources and assistance they need," he added.
Dingwall explained that feedback from mock audits, pilot audits and the first farms which were certified according to the ASC Farm Standard had “provided valuable insights into how the standard operates in practice and where we can make improvements to support effective implementation.”
ASC said experience from implementation so far had shown areas where requirements could be made clearer or applied more consistently. In some cases, the organisation said, information required by the standard may already be collected through existing systems, processes or assurance mechanisms.
Alison Hutchins, ASC producer engagement director, said the introduction of a new global standard was “an ongoing process of learning and improvement”.
“Feedback from farmers, auditors and other stakeholders is helping us refine implementation and ensure the Farm Standard remains effective, credible and capable of delivering meaningful environmental and social outcomes. Our focus is on giving farms the guidance and support they need to transition successfully,” she said.
ASC also pointed out that farms can already transition voluntarily before the revised mandatory deadline.
Launched in May of last year at Seafood Expo Global in Barcelona, the new ASC Farm Standard consolidates multiple species-specific certification standards into a single, unified system. According to ASC, the new approach was designed to increase efficiency for producers, broaden accessibility, and improve accountability across the aquaculture sector.
The first farm to be certified under the new standard was announced in March this year: CUPIBAR, a Spanish family-owned seabass and seabream estuary farm better known by its brand name, Lubimar, located in Barbate, Cadiz, Andalusia, in southern Spain.
Further information on the extension, the interim standard and related support materials is available through the ASC Programme Centre.