Utrecht, The Netherlands — Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) and non-profit organisation KALEKA have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to drive sustainable practice in seafood farming in the Seruyan district of Indonesia through the Improver Programme by ASC.
Under the MOU, ASC will guide the implementation of a jurisdictional Aquaculture Improvement Programme (AIP) in Seruyan in collaboration with farmers and other local and international organisations.
The long-term potential of the project could lead to the development of jurisdictional certification requirements within ASC, allowing seafood farmers in the Seruyan district and other regions to become certified under a jurisdictional entity, creating effective assurance mechanisms at scale and driving impact beyond the level of the farm.
This is the first ‘jurisdictional approach’ within the Improver Programme and the initiative aims to establish sustainable practices across the Seruyan district which will be facilitated by a jurisdictional entity composed of seafood farmers, government, and other key stakeholders in the district.
The MOU also serves as a commitment to develop and test a joint verification system to assess the performance of the jurisdiction in meeting sustainability principles and criteria for multiple commodity certification schemes.
The outcomes of the jurisdictional AIP will be used as learning for how future jurisdictional certification for aquaculture could operate and will be promoted to the global marketplace to gain endorsement and market recognition for improvements made.
ASC CEO Chris Ninnes said, “We are excited to embark on this journey with KALEKA in exploring new ways to support seafood farmers using scalable and effective assurance mechanisms to drive transformational change.
“This project is another example of our ongoing work to help farmers who are at the beginning of their journey towards environmental sustainability and social responsibility.”
Head of Improver Programme by ASC, Roy van Daatselaar said, “We are incredibly pleased to help design and pilot this jurisdictional approach as it poses the potential for driving impact at scale. Jurisdictional approaches can provide a holistic pathway to managing critical impacts ranging from deforestation and other forms of land conversion to community impacts that go beyond the level of the farm.
“ASC has set the ambition to transform the industry towards environmental sustainability and social responsibility. This means that we need to bring transformative change to the sector and we need to rethink how our certification and assurance systems, as well as the support we offer through our Improver Programme, can be replicated at scale.“
“The collaboration with KALEKA allows us to develop and test approaches that we believe will be instrumental for that future in terms of how the industry can effectively manage impacts and assurances throughout the supply chain.”
Bernadinus Steni Sugiarto, Executive Director of KALEKA said, “We are thrilled to collaborate with ASC to trial the jurisdictional AIP in the aquaculture sector in the Seruyan district in Central Kalimantan.
“Seruyan is currently a pilot for the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) jurisdictional approach and through this partnership, we will learn how large-scale transitions towards sustainability in multiple commodities can be achieved.”
The Seruyan District Government is committed to trial a jurisdictional approach to ASC certification and two farmer groups in Seruyan have already obtained government certification for good fish farming practices.
About KALEKA
Kaleka (formerly Yayasan Inobu) is an Indonesian, non-profit organization that strives towards the sustainable management of Indonesia’s landscapes and seascapes for the benefit of local and indigenous communities.
About Seruyan
The Seruyan District Government identified around 6,669 people involved in aquaculture in 2023 producing milkfish, pangasius, tilapia, shrimp, and mullet.
The main farmed species is milkfish with almost 8,000 tonnes produced in 2023, followed by pangasius (4,746 tonnes), shrimp (2,563 tonnes) and tilapia (2,090 tonnes).
About the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC)
Setting The Standard for Seafood.
ASC is driving the world’s leading certification programme for responsibly farmed seafood.
ASC is leading the transformation of the seafood farming industry towards environmental sustainability and social responsibility by setting the most robust standards and providing the highest assurance, integrity and transparency throughout the supply chain.
Our vision is a world where aquaculture plays a major role in supplying food and social benefits for humanity whilst minimising negative impacts on the environment.
Our standards ensure that seafood with the ASC label has been farmed with care.
Sophia Balod (Global Press and PR Manager)
