First Mussel Farm Earns BAP Certification

October, 2013

Atlantic Aqua Farms—a fully integrated, rope-cultured mussel farming and processing company based in Prince Edward Island, Canada—is the first mussel farm in the world to attain Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) certification since the completion of the BAP mussel farm standards in August, the Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA) announced in late October.

All of the company’s PEI mussel farm sites earned BAP certification on Oct. 14.

“We were thrilled to work with the Global Aquaculture Alliance to be the first-ever mussel farm to be BAP certified,” said Terry Ennis, president and CEO of Atlantic Aqua Farms. “As industry leaders in the farming and processing of mussels, we constantly strive to maintain the highest industry standards of environmental stewardship, quality, food safety and customer service. The entire team at Atlantic Aqua Farms is passionate about producing the best quality mussels on the market and we aim to be the consumer’s first choice for mussels every day.”

Established in 1989, Atlantic Aqua Farms is North America’s largest rope-grown mussel farming and processing company and the continent’s No. 1 supplier of premium, live mussels. The company’s products are marketed to retail and foodservice customers across North America under the Canadian Cove brand. A variety of product forms are available, including fresh mussel packs, frozen mussel packs and high-oxygen tray packs.

The new BAP mussel farm 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 species, including blue mussels, Mediterranean mussels, Chilean mussels, New Zealand Greenshell mussels and Asian green mussels.

The addition of BAP mussel farm standards represents a key advancement for the BAP program, as the new standards will be used as a template for broader mollusk farm standards that cover other clams, oysters, scallops and abalone. Currently, more than 600 aquaculture facilities worldwide are BAP certified.

About BAP
Best Aquaculture Practices is an international certification program based on achievable, science-based and continuously improved performance standards for the entire aquaculture supply chain — farms, hatcheries, processing plants and feed mills — that assure healthful foods produced through environmentally and socially responsible means. BAP certification is based on independent audits that evaluate compliance with the BAP standards developed by the Global Aquaculture Alliance. For more information on BAP, visit http://bap.gaalliance.org.