Aquaculture Certification
Farmed protecting critical habitat, preventing pollution and waste. Respecting workers’ rights and improving fish welfare.
About the certification
Friend of the Sea aquaculture certification assesses farmed aquatic products against the standard applicable to their species and production system.
Certification applies to the defined products or species in the approved scope. It does not certify the organisation as a whole or automatically cover everything it sells. Audits check the relevant production activities and evidence needed to establish product compliance.
What can be certified
Farmed products may be certified under the inland aquaculture, marine aquaculture, prawns, shellfish, or seaweed and algae standards. The product scope identifies the species and their production system and origin. Farms, processors, suppliers and end brands can apply for the products they produce or sell.
What the standard covers
Requirements vary by production system and species. The twelve areas below summarise Marine Aquaculture revision 2. The linked inland, prawns, shellfish, and seaweed and algae standards govern their respective scopes.
Requirements address assigned environmental-management duties, document and register control, monitoring, infrastructure maintenance, emergency readiness and corrective actions.
Marine rev2: requirements 1.1.1-1.1.6.
Sites must hold required permits. Where national rules require an environmental assessment, evidence of a positive outcome is required. Otherwise, a third-party footprint study must address the factors specified in the standard and verify that critical ecosystems have not been altered.
Marine rev2: requirements 2.1-2.3.
The Marine standard sets a maximum average annual escape level of 0.5% of farmed fish and addresses containment, maintenance, predator exclusion, escape records, authority notification, corrective measures and non-toxic anti-vegetative paint.
Marine rev2: requirements 3.1-3.5. This threshold applies to the Marine standard.
Where animals caught in the wild are used for fattening, they must originate from fishing activities approved by Friend of the Sea.
Marine rev2: requirement 4.1.
Feed sourcing and feed-conversion records are assessed. The standard distinguishes compulsory feed requirements from recommendations, including the recommendation to use Friend of the Sea-certified feed when available.
Marine rev2: requirements 5.1-5.3.
The Marine standard prohibits GMO fish species and growth hormones.
Marine rev2: requirements 6.1-6.2.
Drugs must not be used as preventive measures. Permitted drugs and other chemical compounds may be used only for specific issues and in accordance with applicable regulation.
Marine rev2: requirements 7.1-7.2.
Water and sediment parameters must comply with applicable rules. Where national parameters are absent, the standard provides specified thresholds. Monitoring must take place at least every six months, records must be retained, and marine cages must meet the stated seabed-distance requirement.
Marine rev2: requirements 8.1-8.5.
Toxic and persistent substances identified by the standard are prohibited, and hazardous-substance controls must comply with applicable safety rules.
Marine rev2: requirement 9.1.
An energy-consumption register, updated at least annually, is an Important requirement. A commitment to reduce annual energy consumption per product unit is a Recommendation and is not compulsory for certification.
Marine rev2: requirements 10.1-10.2.
Requirements address child labour, legal minimum wages, access to healthcare and workplace safety. SA8000 certification is a recommendation.
Marine rev2: requirements 11.1.1-11.2.
A traceability system must verify that certified products come from approved systems and prevent substitution or mixing with products from non-certified systems.
Marine rev2: requirement 12.1.
This is a summary. The full applicable standard defines the requirements and evidence. Essential and Important criteria follow the corrective-action rules set out in the standard; recommendations are not compulsory for certification.
Independent certification and international recognition
An independent certification body assesses compliance with the applicable product requirements. Friend of the Sea is listed as an endorsed scheme by Global Accreditation Cooperation Incorporated (Global ACI). This is scheme-level recognition, not a separate endorsement of every product.
End-brand audits are based on documentary evidence for the products to be certified, including supplier certificates, product information and traceability records. Producers and processors are assessed against the requirements relevant to their production activities. A brand that also manufactures or processes products must include those activities in its assessment.
Certification fees
Suppliers and end brands use the same published price list. The applicable fee depends on the relevant category, revenue band and products or species covered; using the same list does not mean every applicant pays the same amount.
The price list shows annual royalties for new contracts. Audit costs are quoted separately by the certification body. VAT is additional where applicable.
Standards and supporting documents
Supporting documents
Check certification status
Search the directory for the relevant product or species and check its certification scope and status. A company name in the directory does not mean that all its products are certified.
Frequently asked questions
Certification applies to the defined products or species in the approved scope. It does not certify the organisation as a whole or automatically cover everything it sells. Audits check the relevant production activities and evidence needed to establish product compliance.
End-brand audits are based on documentary evidence for the products to be certified, including supplier certificates, product information and traceability records. Producers and processors are assessed against the requirements relevant to their production activities. A brand that also manufactures or processes products must include those activities in its assessment
Yes. An end brand must pay the applicable Friend of the Sea logo royalties and obtain authorisation to use the logo, even when its supplier is already Friend of the Sea certified. Supplier certification does not transfer logo-use rights to the brand. Only the approved products may carry the logo.
No. Both use the same published price list. The applicable category and fee calculation determine the amount payable. Audit charges are separate.
The production system and species determine the standard: inland aquaculture, marine aquaculture, prawns, shellfish, or seaweed and algae. Each has its own checklist, linked in the standards section.
Yes. Applications are open regardless of size, scale, management model or minimum number of operators. The products must meet the applicable requirements.
Marine Aquaculture revision 2 requires an energy-consumption register updated at least annually. Reducing annual energy use per product unit is a recommendation, not a compulsory condition in that revision.
The published Fish Welfare Standards contain species-specific requirements for hatchery and on-growing stages. These are provided separately from the Marine Aquaculture revision 2 checklist, so the Marine checklist alone is not the complete welfare reference.
Apply for certification
Tell us which species and products you want certified, their farming system and origin, and whether you are a producer, processor, supplier or end brand.
The preliminary information form is confidential and does not commit you to proceeding.