The activity complies with either one of the following criteria:

1. Has obtained certification at a national or international level that is aligned with internationally recognised standards
2. Provides an IFMP which demonstrates ongoing adoption of all the applicable basic, intermediate and advanced practices, or as many as feasible.

Any or all of the following eligible practices can be adopted:

Basic practices

• Implement feed planning to match procurement volumes with stock nutritional needs, with adequate storage and handling to minimise spoilage, contamination, and avoidable feed waste.
• Use recycled feed inputs and extend the life of farm infrastructure through reuse or repair.
  • Feed may include agro industrial waste or on-farm scraps like rice bran and vegetable trimmings.
  • Reuse examples include farmer-led repair of cages, nets, and shelters, or shared infrastructure within cooperatives.
  • These measures support material circularity and reduce demand for virgin inputs without requiring formal certification.
• Implement prevention-first health management (biosecurity routines, quarantine procedures where relevant, vaccination/monitoring as applicable) to reduce avoidable mortality and resource loss.
• Monitor and manage core water quality parameters relevant to the system (e.g., dissolved oxygen, temperature, pH, salinity, turbidity/ammonia where relevant) with clear response actions.
• Routine net/cage/pond integrity checks and containment controls to prevent stock losses (escapes, predator damage)
• Use harvest and handling procedures (timing, crowding/handling controls, icing/cooling where relevant) to reduce losses before landing/dispatch.
• Increase the reuse of aquaculture by-products by processing them into usable products before the point of sale.
  • Small-scale examples include manual oil extraction, composting shells, or drying waste protein for local use.
  • On farm valorisation must be conducted by the producer and show alignment with environmental goals such as circularity or nutrient recovery.
  • External factory-based processing is excluded.

Intermediate practices

• Define monitoring frequency, thresholds and corrective actions (aeration strategy, water exchange rules, contingency triggers) to reduce stress-related losses and inefficiencies.
• Early detection and targeted interventions (rather than routine blanket treatments), supported by veterinary guidance where applicable, to reduce avoidable input use and mortality.
• Operational measures that reduce nutrient leakage at source (e.g., improved feeding practice, settling/solids control as part of operational optimisation, not as a recovery requirement).
• Ensure antifouling and net cleaning activities are conducted responsibly with effluent treatment if required. Maintain a waste management plan covering reduction, reuse, and pollution control.

Advanced practices

• Use sensors/automation/decision-support (e.g., automated feeders, cameras, real-time monitoring, satellite based monitoring) to demonstrably reduce feed waste. improve feed efficiency and monitor temperature, turbidity and water quality.