The ASC has welcomed the first Dutch farm to its programme after Kingfish Zeeland achieved certification against the ASC Seriola standard.
Kingfish Zeeland raise Pacific Yellowtail (seriola lalandi), commonly referred to as Kingfish or Hiramasa, on a land-based farm in The Netherlands, which has been certified following an audit by SGS, a third-party certification body.
Not only is the farm the first in The Netherlands to be ASC certified, it is also the first Pacific Yellowtail farm in the world to join the programme. Pacific Yellowtail is found in the Southern Pacific Ocean and traditionally shipped to Europe from Australia and Japan.
“The ASC was established in The Netherlands, and there is a great consumer demand for responsibly-sourced seafood here, so we are delighted to see Kingfish achieve certification in this country. Dutch consumers now have the opportunity to enjoy this delicious fish with the knowledge that it has been locally produced to the high environmental and social standards required by the ASC,” said Esther Luiten, ASC Commercial Director.
“At Kingfish Zeeland we place sustainability and best practices as a core value, but we recognize that just saying so is not enough. That is why we value the strict parameters of leading certification organizations such as ASC, and are proud to be up to their standard. As the world’s first Yellowtail source certified by ASC we are now able to service some of the world’s most demanding buyers, and offer their clientele the peace of mind of knowing our fish was farmed responsibly,” said Ohad Maiman, Kingfish Zeeland CEO.
“On behalf of SGS, I would like to congratulate Kingfish Zeeland BV on their achievement in becoming the first facility in the Netherlands to be ASC Certified. The SGS independent assessment confirms that Kingfish Zeeland BV is committed to, and operates with, high environmental and social standards, thereby producing sustainable and responsibly grown Seriola”, said Naghmeh Raiyat, SGS Vice President Global Food Audit, Certification & Training Solutions.
The announcement comes during Bewuste Visweek, or Think Fish Week, in The Netherlands, when consumers are encouraged to think about sustainable and responsible seafood.
The Kingfish farm is a land-based Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS) in the province of Zeeland. It uses North Sea water from an estuary in the Oosterschelde nature reserve. Certified organic feed is used for the fish, and the farm is powered by 100 per cent renewable energy.
Pacific Yellowtail is a sashimi grade fish, often used in sushi and is also highly regarded in Japan, where it is known as Harimasa.
About the ASC
The Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) is an independent, not-for-profit organisation co-founded by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and The Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH) in 2010 to manage the certification of responsible fish farming across the globe.
The ASC standards require farm performance to be measured against both environmental and social requirements. Certification is through an independent third party process and reports are uploaded to the public ASC website.
The on-pack ASC logo guarantees to consumers that the fish they purchase has been farmed with minimal impacts on the environment and on society.
For more information about ASC please visit www.asc-aqua.org.
About Kingfish Zeeland
Located in the Province of Zeeland in the Netherlands, Kingfish Zeeland taps into the pristine marine estuary water of the Oosterschelde, a nature reserve, working to deliver an Organic fed, antibiotics free, healthy premium delicacy: the Dutch Yellowtail (Seriola Lalandi / Pacific Yellowtail / Hiramasa / often used interchangeably with close cousin Hamachi).
For more information about Kingfish Zeeland please visithttps://www.kingfish-zeeland.com/
About SGS
SGS is an inspection, verification, testing and certification company. With more than 95,000 employees, SGS operates a network of more than 2,400 offices and laboratories around the world.
For more information visit: https://www.sgs.nl
Source: Kingfish Zeeland