The Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA) on Friday announced that it the Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) certification standards for salmon farms have been completed. The process of finalizing the standards took more than two years.
The BAP standards for salmon farms apply to the cage and net-pen production of salmon and rainbow trout. BAP is now open to salmon farmers and processors, and the program is working with certification bodies to develop auditor guidelines for the new standards.
The standards were unanimously approved for implementation by the BAP Standards Oversight Committee.
“This is another big step forward for BAP,” said GAA Executive Director Wally Stevens. “With the salmon standards coming on line, the program now covers another very important species via international guidelines that protect the environment, worker rights and animal welfare, while also addressing food-safety and traceability.”
The salmon standards join the BAP standards for shrimp, tilapia, pangasius and channel catfish. The program also includes standards for feed mills, hatcheries and processing plants. More than 1.5 billion pounds of seafood are processed under the program annually.
The standards and public comments are available on the GAA website.
