BAP Auditor Training Course In Shanghai Draws 56 Participants
Last week’s Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) auditor training course was a success, drawing a total of 56 participants at the New World Hotel Shanghai in Shanghai, China, the biggest course to date.
Among the 56 participants were 29 new or returning auditor candidates and 27 industry observers, including government officials, producers and other industry stakeholders. Among the 29 new or returning auditor candidates were eight processing plant auditors, eight farm auditors, four feed mill auditors and nine multi-competent auditors, who are capable of auditing at any facility level. The majority of the participants were from China and Southeast Asia.
The course covered all of the BAP standards, including the seafood processing plant standards, finfish and crustacean farm standards, mollusk farm standards, feed mill standards, and finfish, crustacean and mollusk hatchery/nursery standards.
Teaching the course were BAP Program Integrity Manager Jeff Peterson, BAP Program Integrity Analyst Ken Corpron, BAP Certification Specialist Shaun O’Loughlin, and seafood specialists Guy Ewing and Suzette Licop.
Program integrity is an integral part of the BAP third-party certification program. New auditor candidates are required to have three to five years of auditing experience (five years for processing plants and three years for farms) before applying to become an auditor, and they are required to successfully complete a training course and auditing shadow program. Returning auditors are required to take a course every three to five years.
The next BAP auditor training course is scheduled to be held in conjunction with the Global Aquaculture Alliance’s GOAL 2017 conference in Dublin, Ireland, from October 8 to 14. An announcement will go out once registration has opened.
