GAA, D-Fish Vietnam Sign Agreement At Seafood Expo Global
The Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Directorate of Fisheries (D-Fish) Vietnam in which the two organizations will work collaboratively to advance responsible aquaculture in Vietnam and globally through the exchange of information and research.
Carson Roper, international business development manager for GAA’s Best Aquaculture Practices division, and Dr. Pham Anh Tuan, deputy director general of D-Fish, signed the MoU in GAA’s exhibit at Seafood Expo Global in Brussels, Belgium, on April 22.
In the MoU, GAA and D-Fish agreed to benchmark the Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) finfish and crustacean farm standards to the VietGAP standards, and vice versa, using a mutually agreed upon methodology followed by a parallel audit to determine equivalence. GAA agreed to offer training to help Vietnamese Pangasius producers comply with the VietGAP standards as part of a stepwise approach to pursuing BAP certification.
The two organizations also agreed to share information and research pertaining production, disease management and other aquaculture-related matters.
“We are delighted to formally recognize the collaboration between GAA and the Directorate of Fisheries (D-Fish) Vietnam to promote responsible aquaculture in Vietnam. This benchmarking project of VietGAP and the BAP farm standards will build a solid foundation for the use VietGAP as a stepping stone toward BAP certification for Pangasius and shrimp farms in Vietnam,” said Roper.
D-Fish is part of the Vietnam Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).
About GAA
The Global Aquaculture Alliance is an international, non-profit trade association dedicated to advancing environmentally and socially responsible aquaculture. Through the development of its Best Aquaculture Practices certification standards, GAA has become the leading standards-setting organization for aquaculture seafood.
