Public Comment Sought on New BAP Farm Standard
Issue 3.0 of the Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) Farm Standard is now available for public comment, the Global Aquaculture Alliance announced on July 27. The 60-day public comment period expires on Sept. 26.
The renamed BAP Farm Standard replaces Issue 2.4 of the BAP Finfish and Crustacean Farm Standard, released on May 23, 2017. The new standard now covers all eligible fed aquaculture species, but BAP will continue to maintain a separate farm standard for salmonids raised in marine net pens. Unfed mollusk species such as mussels and oysters will continue to be covered under the BAP Mollusk Standard.
The new BAP Farm Standard contains a number of new requirements under BAP’s four pillars of sustainability — food safety, social accountability, environmental responsibility and animal welfare. Traceability requirements have also been updated. Specific environmental monitoring approaches for recirculating aquaculture systems and coastal flow-through systems have been added, and the requirements for efficient use of key feed ingredients such as fishmeal, soybean meal and oils have been updated, with new limits set for the BAP fish-in fish-out (FIFO) ratios for many species.
About BAP
A division of the Global Aquaculture Alliance, Best Aquaculture Practices is an international certification program based on achievable, science-based and continuously improved performance standards for the entire aquaculture production chain – including processing plants, farms, hatcheries and feed mills. BAP standards cover environmental responsibility, social accountability, food safety and animal welfare. The BAP program is based on independent audits that evaluate compliance with the BAP standards developed by GAA.
