BAP To Undergo GSSI Pilot Testing Program
May, 2014
The Global Aquaculture Alliance has accepted an invitation from the Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative (GSSI) to participate in a GSSI pilot testing program to be conducted in the latter half of 2014. The announcement came at the open of Seafood Expo Global in Brussels, Belgium, on May 6.
GAA’s Best Aquaculture Practices is the first certification scheme to publicly accept GSSI’s invitation.
GSSI is a global sustainability benchmarking organization founded in 2013. The pilot testing program is designed to test and validate the GSSI benchmarking process as credible, achievable, verifiable and practical, and to create awareness and prepare participating certification schemes for application of formal benchmarking after the official launch of the GSSI benchmark tool in 2015.
“We believe the marketplace is looking for a level playing field, and we believe that GSSI, through a [Food and Agriculture Organization] approach, is going to deliver that playing field. So we’re very excited to be on the forefront of that. We think it’s going to be a good journey and one that’s going to have a very positive [outcome],” said Peter Redmond, BAP VP of market development.
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 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.
About GSSI
The Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative (GSSI) was created to help address sustainability issues in the global seafood supply chain. Through the development of a common, consistent and global benchmarking tool for seafood certification and labeling programs, the GSSI will provide comparability and transparency between existing programs. For more information, visit www.ourgssi.org.
