November, 2013 Heartland Catfish Co.—the United States’ largest catfish farming and processing company—has attained Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) certification for its Mississippi processing plant, the Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA) announced in mid-November. The Itta Bena, Mississippi, plant processes live catfish. Heartland Catfish processes 60 million to 75 million pounds (27 million to 34 million kilograms)
January, 2015 National Aquaculture Group (NAQUA) is the Middle East’s first company to earn Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) certification, the Global Aquaculture Alliance announced in mid-January. It’s also one of only 15 companies worldwide to attain four-star BAP status, denoting that its processing plants, farms, hatcheries and feed mills are all BAP certified. NAQUA is
September, 2014 King Reef Seafoods Pty. Ltd.’s barramundi farm site in Cowley, Queensland, Australia, has attained Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) certification, the country’s first barramundi farm site to earn the distinction, the Global Aquaculture Alliance announced in late September. It is the world’s second barramundi farm site to attain BAP certification, following Tanachote Farm in
January, 2014 The Global Aquaculture Alliance’s (GAA) Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) third-party certification program had a fruitful 2013, experiencing robust growth in terms of the number of BAP-certified facilities and the volume of product from BAP-certified facilities available in the marketplace. Last year, the BAP program experienced a 31% increase in the number of facilities
August, 2013 The Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) division of the Global Aquaculture Alliance, the world’s leading certification standard for aquaculture facilities, has added Food Certification International Ltd. (FCI) to its team of BAP-approved third-party certification bodies. In a service agreement between the two organizations, FCI will conduct auditing and certification activities for aquaculture farms, hatcheries,
August, 2013 The Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) program has expanded its coverage of shellfish with the completion of new standards for mussel farms. The new standards encompass all production systems for mussels, including cultivation on the seabed or on poles, and suspended cultures such as long-line culture and raft-and-rack culture. They also cover various mussel
April, 2013 The Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA), the leading standards-setting organization for farmed seafood, has expanded the Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) certification program with the completion of new BAP standards for finfish and crustacean farms. The new multi-species farm standards apply to all types of production systems for finfish and crustaceans, excluding cage-raised salmonids, for
May, 2014 The Global Aquaculture Alliance has accepted an invitation from the Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative (GSSI) to participate in a GSSI pilot testing program to be conducted in the latter half of 2014. The announcement came at the open of Seafood Expo Global in Brussels, Belgium, on May 6. GAA’s Best Aquaculture Practices is the
October, 2014 Two-star, three-star and four-star Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) pangasius standards of the Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA) certified in Vietnam are equivalent to a yellow “Good Alternative” rating from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch® program. Seafood Watch will recommend that consumers, chefs and businesses consider farmed pangasius assessed under the BAP standards as
April, 2014 Two-star Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) shrimp standards of the Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA) are equivalent to a yellow “Good Alternative” rating from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch® program. Seafood Watch will recommend that consumers, chefs and businesses consider farmed shrimp assessed under the BAP standards as a “buy” option. The determination came
May, 2013 The Global Aquaculture Alliance’s (GAA) Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) seafood processing plant standards have been successfully benchmarked against the latest Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) food safety requirements. GFSI made the announcement on May 16. The BAP standards now align with GFSI Guidance Document Sixth Edition, which according to GFSI represents an upgrade
September, 2014 The Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) third-party certification program has expanded its coverage with the completion of new BAP hatchery and nursery standards for finfish, crustaceans and mollusks. The addition of the BAP hatchery standards represents a key advancement for the BAP program, as they allow companies to pursue four-star designation for all species
January, 2015 For the Global Aquaculture Alliance’s Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) third-party certification program, 2014 was marked with growth, accomplishments and milestones. The BAP program experienced year-on-year growth in 2014, in terms of the volume of product originating from BAP-certified facilities and the number of BAP-certified facilities. The annual output from BAP-certified processing plants totaled
February, 2015 The Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA) is launching a program designed to help aquaculture farmers attain Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) certification, the organization announced in late January. The new program is called iBAP. It incentivizes aquaculture facilities capable of attaining BAP certification to engage in a deadline-driven program, providing the assistance and encouragement necessary to
February, 2015 The Global Aquaculture Alliance’s Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) division invites new auditor candidates and returning auditors requiring refresher training to attend a BAP auditor training course in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, from May 10 to 16, 2015. The course is also open to industry observers, including government officials, producers and other industry stakeholders
January, 2015 Add Makro Supermayorista S.A. to the growing list of wholesalers, retailers and foodservice operators worldwide that endorse the Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) third-party certification program, the Global Aquaculture Alliance announced in late January. Makro is the first major Latin American wholesaler to endorse the BAP program. It is adopting BAP certification as part
October, 2014 The Global Aquaculture Alliance, IFFO, Lyons Seafoods Co. and Wm Morrison Supermarkets on Oct. 10, 2014, collectively agreed to a position statement addressing the social concerns related to aquafeed production. The four organizations announced the agreement on the final day of GAA’s GOAL 2014 conference in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Since then,
June 2014 Add Long John Silver’s to the growing list of retailers and foodservice operators worldwide that are Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) market endorsers. Long John Silver’s has announced that it will be adopting BAP certification as part of its sustainable seafood procurement policy. The U.S. restaurant chain will work closely with the Global Aquaculture