Penver Products is India’s first aquaculture producer to achieve four-star Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) status for shrimp, or for any species, the Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA) announced on Wednesday.
Penver works in conjunction with National Fish & Seafood (NFS) in Gloucester, Mass., USA, a division of Pacific Andes International Holdings Ltd. NFS and Penver held a joint training seminar to educate farmers on responsible aquaculture practices and the BAP farm standards.
Four-star BAP status denotes that processing plants, farms, hatcheries and feed mills from which a group sources are BAP-certified. It’s the highest such achievement in the BAP program. There are now a total of 21 four-star BAP groups, 18 producing shrimp and three producing salmon.
Four-star BAP status was achieved when Avanti Feeds Limited’s feed mill recently earned BAP certification. Also certified are Ocean Edibles International Ltd. processing plant, which is leased to Penver Products; its five-farm IOM (integrated operating module) for shrimp; and BMR Industries Pvt. Ltd.’s shrimp hatchery.
“We want to thank Avanti Feeds, Penver Products and the BAP staff for their efforts to advance responsible aquaculture in India. This achievement is the result of the cooperation of Philips Thomas, Madhu and our farmers associated with this project in Andhra Pradesh. Together we share a commitment to drive aquaculture improvements in India. We will continue our work to help farmers, small and large alike, to meet the BAP standards, and expect to add significant quantities of four-star BAP shrimp over the next 12 months,” said Jeff Sedacca, president of the shrimp division at NFS.
NFS and Penver are also driving a pilot program that helps small, family farms work toward BAP certification in a cost-effective way.
