The Global Seafood Alliance (GSA) released its first Feed Mill Standard in 2010, which is also the year the first feed mill achieved BAP certification. Since then, GSA has continued to improve its feed requirements, and was an early adopter of adding certified soy and palm oil requirements in 2017. The changes made in the latest Issue of the standard, Issue 3.3, focused entirely on the procurement, traceability and reporting of critical feed ingredients: fishmeal and fish oil, soy and palm.

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Our Commitment to Responsible Feed Production

GSA has a long history of working with stakeholders across the seafood industry to create a more responsible aquaculture feed industry. These issues are just a few that we are focused on right now.

Responsibly Sourced Feed Ingredients

Marine ingredients: GSA's Feed Mill Standard requires that 90% of all marine ingredients must come from certified sources by 2028 and everything else must be part of a plan of action. These plans of action are verified by the auditor.

Terrestrial ingredients: In 2017, feed mills were required to prove that 50% of all soy and 100% of all palm oil products came from certified sources. Issue 3.3 requires facilities to demonstrate commitment to purchasing and using 100% certified or deforestation and conversion free (DCF) verified soy and providing a plan of how they will achieve this beginning in January 2026.

Use of By-products

"By-product" refers to materials of either fishery or aquaculture origin produced as a residual or incidental to any processing operations except sorting. GSA supports the use of by-products in feed and is working with industry stakeholders to better create affordable mechanisms to encourage the use of by-products in feed, as they will be an integral part of responsible feed in the future.

Carbon Footprint Reduction

Feed mills are required to record and provide the auditor with a life cycle analysis that shows the annual direct energy consumption and water usage of their facilities. This data is collected with the aim of increasing efficiency and reducing impacts over time. Beginning January 2026, facilities must also demonstrate that they have a time-bound plan showing how they will achieve 100% DCF soy.

Traceability

Product traceability is a critical component of the BAP program. Feed mills are required to have traceability systems in place that allow accurate and timely tracing of all feed ingredients used in feeds and all finished products, including date code, lot information and shipping details.

When feed mills attain BAP certification, 100% of that facility and the feed it produces is certified.

BAP certification provides assurances to buyers that 100% of the aquafeed production out of a recognized feed mill meets our standard. In addition, a BAP-certified feed mill is validated to be in compliance with all applicable requirements within the standard, with no exemptions or variations allowed. This ensures a more consistent, straightforward certification assurance to buyers, as well as a clear, consistent pathway for all feed mills seeking third-party certification.

Impacts of Certification

Third-party certification ensures credibility and trust, providing independent verification that products meet rigorous standards. It builds consumer confidence, enhances brand reputation, and promotes transparency and accountability across the supply chain.

Recent Updates from GSA

The Future of the BAP Feed Mill Standard

GSA's Steve Hart discusses his background in feeds and what's next for the BAP Feed Mill Standard.

GSA Releases Feed Mill Standard Issue 3.3

Updates focus on the procurement, traceability, and reporting of fishmeal and fish oil, soy, and palm.

Learn More About Aquafeeds

Learn more about aquafeeds by visiting GSA's online magazine, The Responsible Seafood Advocate.

Certified Feed Mills

150+

Certified Feed Volume

10.7 million MT

Feeding fish graphic

MarinTrust is the world's leading certification program for the marine ingredient value chain, owning the MarinTrust Standard for Responsible Supply, MarinTrust Chain fo Custody for Responsible Supply and MarinTrust Improver Programme.

GSA and MarinTrust work collaboratively to meet the goal of 75 percent of the world's marine ingredients supplies being either certified, in assessment, in application or in the MarinTrust Improver Programme.

USSEC_200x200-1

The U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC) focuses on differentiating, elevating preference, and attaining market access for the use of U.S. soy for human consumption, aquaculture, and livestock feed in 80+ countries internationally.

GSA and USSEC have worked collaboratively to increase smallholder farmer engagement and certification in the aquaculture supply chain. USSEC is also the sponsor of GSA's annual Responsible Seafood Innovation Awards, which recognize novel solutions to challenges facing the seafood industry and is part of GSA's annual Responsible Seafood Summit.

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Wholechain is a blockchain based traceability solution built to enable trust, coordination, and transparency in fragmented supply chains. GSA and Wholechain have partnered to create GSA's proprietary platform, Prism, which provides traceability and assurance offerings. Prism offers insights and metrics across GSA standards and is augmented with GDST/GS1-EPCIS digital traceability. GSA corporate members receive 25% off their first year with Wholechain.

GSA's History with Responsible Feed

First BAP Feed Mill Standard Created

GSA, previously the Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA), completed its first Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) standards for feed mills.

2010

First Feed Mill Certified

A feed mill in Thailand was the first producer to attain certification to the BAP Feed Mill Standard.

2010

Requirements for Wild-Capture Fisheries Raw Materials Implemented

Certified feed mills were required to prove that 50 percent of their wild-capture fisheries raw materials were from certified sources by 2015.

2015

Certified Soy and Palm Oil Requirements Implemented

Certified feed mills were required to prove that 50% of all soy and 100% of all palm oil products came from certified sources by 2017.

2017

Soy Requirements Changed

In 2025, soy requirements in the BAP Feed Mill Standard were changed, requiring feed mills to demonstrate a commitment to purchasing and using 100% certified or DCF-verified soy starting in January 2026.

2025

How are GSA standards created and managed?

GSA standards are developed and approved through a third-party oversight process, incorporating equal representation from industry, academia/government, and NGOs. Each standard is managed by an independent Technical Committee that develops and revises standards, reviews public comments, and prepares drafts for the Standards Oversight Committee (SOC), a third-party group of experts that evaluates every standard GSA operates. All GSA standards are fully reviewed at least every 5 years, with minor revisions often occurring during a standard's lifespan.

How is compliance with marine ingredient requirements monitored and/or audited?

Audits are performed by a third-party auditor through an annual onsite evaluation of production, sourcing and traceability. For aquafeeds produced onsite, all marine ingredient inclusions must be reported, with validated traceability documentation. Additionally, all certified feed mills are required to develop a validated Plan of Action that specifically mandates feed mills to:

Exclude use of fishmeal or fish oil sourced from illegal, unreported or unregulated (IUU) fisheries, or by-products from such fisheries.
Exclude fishmeal or fish oil sourced from fish or fish by-products from fisheries designated by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, National Marine Fisheries Service of the United States, International Union for Conservation of Nature or Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources as “subject to overfishing,” “overfished,” “harvested unsustainably,” “fishery closed,” “stock overexploited,” “no Feed Mill Standard fishing recommended,” “stock critical,” “endangered” or “critically endangered.”

What are the main changes made to Feed Mill Standard 3.3?

The updates made to the standard are the result of more than a year of in-depth stakeholder engagement with the goal of modernizing the standard to meet marketplace expectations. The update focuses on the procurement, traceability, and reporting of three critical feed ingredients: fishmeal and fish oil, soy, and palm.

Key changes to the standard from the previous Issue 3.2 include:

Requirements for improved clarity, consistency, and rigor of key ingredient sourcing requirements (marine ingredients, soy and palm)
Improved traceability verifications of key ingredients
Enhanced requirements for the traceability reporting of oil blends purchased from third party manufacturers
New time-bound commitments and targets for responsible marine ingredient and soy sourcing:
- For marine ingredients, 90% must come from certified sources by 2028, and 100% by 2031.
- For soy, feed mills must have a time-bound plan developed by January 1, 2026 that demonstrates how they will achieve 100% deforestation and conversion free (DCF) soy. There is no target date to achieve 100% DCF at this time.
A clear glossary for key terms needed for compliance

Our Commitment to Responsible Feed