The Global Aquaculture Alliance would like to weigh in on the Dec. 15 Bloomberg Businessweek article “How Antibiotic-Tainted Seafood From China Ends Up on Your Table.” The article failed to address the progress that’s been made in preventing the abuse of antibiotics in aquaculture via third-party certification programs like GAA’s Best Aquaculture Practices and therefore
A group of 65 tilapia farms in Hainan, China, has enrolled in the iBAP program, becoming the first group of tilapia farms to do so. The Fishin’ Company, a leading tilapia supplier that is capable of offering four-star BAP tilapia, is sponsoring the farmers’ participation in iBAP, which is a precursor to full BAP certification.
Sagro Aquaculture Ltd. has enrolled its sea bream hatchery in Cyprus in the iBAP program, becoming the world’s first sea bream facility as well as the world’s first Mediterranean facility to do so. Launched in early 2015, the iBAP program is designed to provide assistance and encouragement to aquaculture facilities interested in pursuing BAP certification.
It’s official. The number of Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP)-certified facilities has surpassed the 1,500 mark, with the addition of 67 new facilities to the third-party aquaculture certification program last month. At the end of November, there were a total of 1,527 BAP-certified processing plants, farms, hatcheries and feed mills worldwide, the Global Aquaculture Alliance has
British Columbia’s salmon-farming industry is celebrating five years of commitment to the Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) third-party certification program with the five-year anniversary of the world’s first BAP-certified salmon farm. Cermaq Canada’s Brent Island salmon farm, located near Campbell River, British Columbia, attained BAP certification five years ago this month, becoming the first farm to
A total of 14 new or returning auditors and 35 industry observers attended the Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) auditor training course in Miami, Florida, USA, from Nov. 28 to Dec. 3. Attendees came predominantly from Belize, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, India, Ireland, Peru and the United States. Representatives of a number of
The 60-day public comment period for the Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) biosecurity area management standards, released in late November, has been extended by 14 days, the Global Aquaculture Alliance has announced. The new deadline to submit comments is Feb. 12, 2017. The new standards focus primarily on the prevention and control of pathogenic organisms and the
Empresas AquaChile S.A. has completed the Best Aquaculture Practices’ (BAP) multi-site cluster program (BAP-C), resulting in six of its salmon hatcheries in Chile attaining BAP certification and three of its salmon hatcheries attaining BAP re-certification, the Global Aquaculture Alliance announced in late November. AquaChile was a pioneer in that it was the first company to
Salmones Camanchaca S.A. is now capable of offering four-star Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) salmon with the certification of its Rio Petrohue hatchery in Chile, the Global Aquaculture Alliance announced in late November. Four-star is the highest designation in the BAP program, signifying that a product originates from BAP-certified processing plant, farm, hatchery and feed mill.
The Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) third-party certification program is well on track to surpass the 1,500-facility mark in the fourth quarter of 2016. The number of BAP-certified processing plants, farms, hatcheries and feed mills worldwide reached 1,465 at the end of October, with the addition of 35 new BAP-certified facilities. Last month’s total includes 25
The Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) third-party certification program is well on track to surpass the 1,500-facility mark in the fourth quarter of 2016. The number of BAP-certified processing plants, farms, hatcheries and feed mills worldwide reached 1,465 at the end of October, with the addition of 35 new BAP-certified facilities. Last month’s total includes 25
The Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) third-party certification program has stepped up its logo-policing program with the deployment of a data-collection application to ensure that the BAP logo is being used properly on retail-ready packaging, the Global Aquaculture Alliance announced in early November. The BAP program integrity team has tapped Field Agent, a data-collection application that
The Global Aquaculture Alliance has signed a cooperation agreement with Ocean Gala Marine Resources in which the two organizations recognize each other’s interest in promoting responsibly farmed seafood. Ocean Gala Marine Resources operates as Chang International in China. Founded in 1994, Chang International is a leading seafood processing and supply company with facilities in Kirkland,
New Zealand King Salmon is now eligible to offer three-star Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) salmon following the certification of its three salmon hatcheries, the Global Aquaculture Alliance announced in early November. Three stars denote that a product originates from a BAP-certified processing plant, farm and hatchery, and New Zealand King Salmon is Australasia’s first salmon
Canada’s Northern Harvest Sea Farms is the first salmon company in North America to complete the Best Aquaculture Practices’ (BAP) new multi-site cluster program (BAP-C), resulting in five salmon farm sea sites in Newfoundland attaining BAP certification, the Global Aquaculture Alliance announced on Nov. 1. The BAP-C program allows an applicant to combine multiple farm
Congratulations to Goulburn River Trout, the first rainbow trout business in Australia and the Eastern Hemisphere to attain Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) certification. Both of the company’s farms, Thornton Farm and Walnut Island Farm, which are located in the foothills of the Great Dividing Range in northeast Victoria, earned BAP certification on Oct. 25. The
Improved farming practices are at least partially responsible for an 11 percent increase in Colombia’s tilapia exports to the U.S. market this year. Sara Patricia Bonilla, general manager of Federación Colombiana De Acuicultores (FEDEACUA), highlighted the jump in Colombia’s tilapia exports while praising farmers for earning Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) third-party certification at a FEDEACUA-organized
In support of the Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) third-party certification program, Jairo Amezquita, aquaculture consultant of the Americas region for U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC), presented BAP certificates to the Colombian farmers selected to receive training and financial support. Amezquita has been a key player in ensuring that Colombia’s farmers receive the training and financial