Mowi accelerates efforts for ASC certification
Mowi Scotland’s freshwater loch sites will be audited at the end of this month as the company accelerates plans to achieve Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) qualification for all its sites in the country.
Norwegian-owned Mowi aims to achieve ASC certification for all its sites throughout the world, but its Scottish operation was unable to do so because its practice of growing smolts in freshwater lochs was incompatible with ASC rules.
‘Loch out’
Those rules changed in December last year, ending an ASC “loch out” of freshwater loch sites and the seawater sites that received smolts from them.
Speaking in the January issue of Mowi Scotland’s newsletter, The Scoop, technical manager Rory Campbell said: “I’m proud to say that in Scotland we have a plan in place for 2020 to expedite certification at a number of our sites.”
More farms will be added in 2021, and the longer-term aim is that all sites will achieve certification.
‘Ambitious target’
Mowi Scotland’s recently appointed certification manager, Samuel Clegg, told The Scoop: “We have an ambitious target and therefore a lot of work ahead of us.
“I joined from a third-party accreditation body, similar to the type that the ASC uses to carry out the auditing process. I also have experience in aquaculture, so I am drawing on all this experience in the lead-up to our first audits which will happen at the end of January.”
Mowi Scotland currently has only one marine farm, Loch Leven, with ASC certification.
Three freshwater sites – at Glenfinnan, Loch Lochy and Loch Arkaig – are under assessment for certification.
