The IFA standard for aquaculture is a global standard for responsible farming practices that covers the entire production chain, from brood stock, seedlings, and compound feed to farming, harvesting, and transportation.
GLOBALG.A.P. standards for aquaculture have been operational for almost 20 years and are developed through extensive collaboration with stakeholders throughout the sector. IFA for aquaculture is the only aquaculture certification standard at farm level recognized by GFSI and the only aquaculture certification standard recognized by GSSI for all species of finfish, crustaceans, molluscs, and seaweed.
IFA v6 for aquaculture at a glance
- Adopts a holistic approach that covers food safety, animal health and welfare, environmental sustainability and biodiversity, workers’ well-being, production processes, legal compliance, and traceability
- Mandatory inclusion of the GLOBALG.A.P. Risk Assessment on Social Practice (GRASP)
- Requires sourcing of compound feed used at the aquatic farming and hatchery levels from compound feed manufacturers with GLOBALG.A.P. certified production processes
- Covers all species of finfish, crustaceans, molluscs, and seaweed
- Covers all types of aquaculture production systems with certification options for both individual producers and producer groups
- Considers all four pillars of the FAO Technical Guidelines on Aquaculture Certification and the OIE (World Organization for Animal Health) Aquatic Animal Health Code
- Supports increased efficiency and improved management of farm operations
- Provides clarity on market requirements and acts as a practical manual for on-farm activities
- Enables producers to demonstrate responsible farming practices and buyers to easily identify production that fulfills their requirements
- Implements a farm-level continuous improvement plan that helps producers to analyze and enhance their operations
- Opens the door to a range of GLOBALG.A.P. add-ons and supply chain solutions
- Audited annually by accredited and independent third-party certification bodies, resulting in a certificate valid for one year
Editions and GFSI recognition
IFA v5.4-1-GFS has been successfully assessed against the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) Benchmarking Requirements and achieved GFSI recognition for scope A2 Farming of Fish. It is the only aquaculture farming standard to have achieved this.
IFA for aquaculture has also been benchmarked against the Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative's (GSSI) Global Benchmark Tool Version 1 and is recognized by the GSSI Steering Board. A seafood certification scheme is recognized after successfully completing the seven-step benchmark process.
IFA for aquaculture is currently available in three versions. Click here to find out which version is applicable to your needs.
How it works
For more details about how the IFA standard works in practice, please see “About IFA v6 for aquaculture” in the download section, or check our IFA homepage.
Your IFA documents
For IFA v6, you can
generate your
required documents here.
For other IFA versions, you can find all the required documents in the
GLOBALG.A.P. document
center.
FishChoice is a GLOBALG.A.P. Community Member and collaborator, providing an interactive platform that tailors the seafood sustainability information businesses need, and makes it accessible and actionable. A description of the FishChoice program can be found here.