Gilthead bream

The ASC standard requires feed used in bass and bream aquaculture to be traceable and some requirements are in place for responsible ingredient sourcing. However, responsible sourcing of marine ingredients is not verified via audit and ASC-certified bass and bream can use a high quantity of wild caught fish in their diet.Seabass and bream are fed on a commercial, pelleted feed that comprises fishmeal, fish oil and vegetable proteins and oils. The ingredients are traceable however, their sustainability is not always verified via audit.The marine component of the feed (fish meal and fish oil) comes from a feed manufacturer with a public facing responsible sourcing policy in place, however, the implementation of this is not verified by third party audit. Although bass and bream are good feed convertors, they still require more wild fish protein than they produce, making them a net consumer of protein.From September 2023, 80% of soy and palm oil must come from sources certified by an ISEAL members certification, this includes Rainforest Alliance, Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and the Roundtable for Responsible Soy Production. The use of novel and alternative feed ingredients is not required in the ASC certification.

Seabass and bream farming in marine net pens can have negative environmental impacts. However, many of these impacts are mitigated by ASC certification.Farmed bass and bream in marine net pens does not deplete local freshwater supplies. Habitat alteration is also small scale through the use of mooring grids only. All juveniles are sourced from hatcheries.Although production systems do discharge directly into the aquatic environment, the ASC standard has indicators to ensure that all biological and non-biological waste produced by the farm is recycled, reused or disposed of properly and does not affect neighbouring communities. Chemicals are also used but are effectively regulated by the ASC standard.Parasitic transfer from farmed bass and bream to adjacent wild species is hard to prove and has rarely been documented, therefore, the environmental impact is unknown. However, the ASC standard has requirements that seek to ensure proactive health management on the farm through comprehensive health management plans and up to date record keeping systems. The same systems are in place for bacterial and disease outbreaks.In open net pen aquaculture, there is a potential risk of escapes. However, the ASC standard addresses farmed fish escapes through a rigorous farm management system. Farm management measures also prevent the use of lethal control on predators (unless worker safety is at risk).

The ASC seabass, sea bream and meagre standard does not cover animal welfare and humane slaughter.In the European seabass and bream sector, it is common and predominant industry practice to use immersion in an icy slurry as a method to slaughter the fish upon harvest.

ASC farmed bass and bream are well managed and management is thought to be fully effective.Both the EU and Turkey have committed to zonal based management of aquaculture. The ASC standard has criteria in place to cover the use of land water resources, discharge including effluents and their impacts, biosecurity and disease management. Certification criteria are also thought to be fully effective in minimising environmental impacts.The ASC standards cover the main environmental and social impacts of aquaculture, including fish health, feed and fair employment conditions, by setting metric based indicators. Farms are assessed annually by external auditors and results published. ASC products are traceable throughout the supply chain. ASC is the only ISEAL compliant aquaculture certification scheme.