Thai company I’m Shrimp Farm 5 in Phang Nga has achieved certification to the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) Farm Standard, becoming one of the first early adopters of the ASC certification in Thailand. The certification recognizes the farm’s performance across environmental and social impacts, animal health and welfare, legal compliance and farm management, while providing a framework for strengthening existing practices and identifying areas for continued improvement.
For Farm 5, the certification process provided an opportunity to examine established practices more closely, strengthen management systems and improve how information is collected, recorded and used to support day-to-day decisions.
“Achieving certification under the new ASC Farm Standard is something our whole team is proud of. But what matters most to us is not simply being the first or receiving the certificate. It is what we learned, what we had to question and what we improved along the way,” commented Pornthep Limtrakoon, Sales Manager of INTEQC Global.
According to his words: “Certification is not the day the work finishes. It is the point from which we have to prove that the systems we put in place can work in everyday farming. If they help us identify risks earlier, make better decisions from data, and take better care of shrimp, workers and the environment, that is the real value of the standard.”
A more critical look
Farm 5 already had a closed, recirculating water-management system, routine water-quality monitoring, shrimp-health monitoring and established practices for feed, farm inputs and daily operations. The certification process encouraged the team to look more critically at how these systems were managed and documented.
The process also strengthened the farm’s focus on prevention, particularly shrimp health and biosecurity. Monitoring water quality, shrimp behavior and farm conditions help the team identify potential risks earlier and respond before problems become more difficult to manage.
“For us, certification has reinforced that saying ‘we already do this’ is not always enough. We need to know who is responsible, when something is checked, where it is recorded and what happens when results fall outside expectations. Good records are not only for an auditor – they help us manage the farm better,” stated Limtrakoon.
Environmental and social assessment process
I’m Shrimp Farm 5 is located in Khuekkhak Subdistrict, Takua Pa District, Phang Nga Province, Thailand. The farm covers approximately 200.2 rai (32.03 hectares), including 11 grow-out ponds covering approximately 69.1 rai (11.06 hectares), with an annual production capacity of approximately 700–900 metric tonnes of shrimp at full production.
They operate a closed recirculating water-management system, including reservoir ponds and treatment infrastructure, allowing treated water to be reused within the farm. Among other things, the farm has implemented an energy reduction plan and manages aeration to reduce energy consumption in the production pond. The certification also prompted Farm 5 to consider its relationship with surrounding communities and the environment.
The farm’s expansion area consisted of existing shrimp ponds previously operated by another farmer, explained ASC. Rather than clearing a natural area to develop new ponds, Farm 5 leased the existing ponds to continue aquaculture production. As part of the environmental and social assessment process, the farm engaged with the local community on farm management, water and wastewater management, sludge management, environmental policies and channels for complaints and suggestions.
Long history of shrimp farming
After receiving the news, South-East Asia Producer Engagement Lead at ASC, Koji Yamamoto, congratulated the Thai company on achieving certification to the new ASC Farm Standard “and on reaching this important milestone for Thailand’s shrimp sector. Thailand has a long history of shrimp farming and is an important producer in the region, so demonstrating what certification to the new standard looks like in practice here is particularly significant.”
“We hope Farm 5’s achievement will encourage more producers in Thailand to see certification as a tool for continuous improvement and help set a strong benchmark for farms across Asia as expectations around aquaculture performance continue to evolve. This is an important step not only for Farm 5, but for the wider Thai shrimp sector and the region,” he finished.
