Atlantic Canada’s Northern Harvest Sea Farm is the Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) program’s “two-star” salmon operation after its St. George, New Brunswick, processing plant received BAP certification on Monday, the Global Aquaculture Alliance announced on Thursday.
About a month ago, the company’s Bar Island salmon farm earned BAP certification, Atlantic Canada’s first salmon farm to do so. The BAP farmed salmon standards were finalized in mid-2011, a process that took more than two years to complete.
The Northern Harvest processing plant was audited by Global Trust Certification Ltd, and three additional Northern Harvest farms have applied for certification.
“This important achievement exemplifies our commitment toward responsible aquaculture and the long-term positive impacts it will have on the coastal communities within which we operate,” said Northern Harvest President Larry Ingalls. “Our company’s goal is to continue working toward certification of all of our salmon-farming operations — from our new land-based hatchery to our farms through to our processing and distribution facilities.”
The Northern Harvest processing plant opened in 2007. It now offers a full range of salmon products, including fillets, steaks and portions. Over the past two years, plant capacity has been doubled, and there have been significant investments in state-of-the-art value-adding technologies, food safety initiatives and efficiency improvements.
