Trout production accounts for a very small share of worldwide seafood production, with farmed trout accounting for almost all global trout production. Our improvement efforts prioritize trout fisheries and aquaculture operations that is:

• Red-rated by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch Program (see all trout ratings here); or
• The large share of farmed trout production that is not yet assessed

A baseline step businesses can take to accelerate progress in improving performance is to prioritize the purchase of certified or Best Choice trout and encourage suppliers to pursue improvements. The collaboration is focused on improving the performance of trout fisheries and aquaculture operations by building on promising NGO and industry initiatives.

Aquaculture Stewardship Council

ASC is developing an Aquaculture Improvement Programme to provide farms a clear and measurable path to certification. The program pairs producers with support to conduct initial assessments, understand gaps in performance and establish an action plan to achieve certification and best practices within a defined time frame. The program will be piloted on shrimp farms in 2020, with subsequent expansion across production systems.

Interested businesses can contact ASC’s Roy Van Daatselaar (roy.vandaatselaar@asc-aqua.org) to learn more about the Improver Programme.

Seafood Watch

The Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch Program ratings are based on specific location and production method information. For detailed information, please visit the Seafood Watch recommendations on trout.

Sustainable Fisheries Partnership

SFP’s “T75” initiative is focused on ensuring that at least 75% of world production in key sectors is sustainable (i.e., certified by the MSC program, or green-listed in SFP’s Metrics tool) or making regular, verifiable improvements. For wild production:

• Certified by one of the following programs: IFFO RS, ASMI RFM, Iceland Responsible Fisheries, Fair Trade USA
• Or under full assessment in the MSC program
• Or in a FIP that is making good progress (i.e., with a progress rating of A, B, or C using SFP’s FIP evaluation tool

Rainbow trout and sea trout from marine production (both farmed and wild) fall within the Target scope, namely in the Salmon sector. SFP has developed a visual display of T75 progress for each of the key seafood sectors, including salmon. Please check the latest estimates here.

To learn more, visit the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership’s Aquaculture Supply Chain Roundtable. For detailed information, contact info@sustainablefish.org.