The Global Seafood Alliance (GSA) has announced the official release of its Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) Salmon Farm Standard (SFS) Issue 3.0. The standard will become effective on August 5, 2026, at which point all salmon farms must apply to Issue 3.0.
Updates have been made to make the standard more robust, including strengthened human rights requirements, stronger requirements for protection of predator species and stricter requirements for humane slaughter methods. This standard will also transition all salmon farms to a mandatory two-day audit duration.
Key changes to the standard from the previous Issue 2.4 include:
- Additional social responsibility clauses to strengthen human rights requirements
- Stricter procedures for safe diving, response to diver emergencies, requirements for diver training and certification
- Adoption of forage fish dependency ratio (FFDR) as a metric
- Stronger requirements for protection of predator species and endangered, threatened, and protected species
- More emphasis on the use and documentation of operational welfare indicators
- A greater focus on protecting the welfare of cleaner fish
- Stricter requirements for humane harvest / slaughter (with SOPs for slaughter, etc.)
- More requirements for biosecurity and fish welfare during transport or crowding
