Miami Auditor Training Course Draws 14 Auditors
A total of 14 new or returning auditors and 35 industry observers attended the Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) auditor training course in Miami, Florida, USA, from Nov. 28 to Dec. 3.
Attendees came predominantly from Belize, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, India, Ireland, Peru and the United States. Representatives of a number of the BAP-accredited certification bodies also attended.
Course instructors were Ken Corpron, BAP program integrity analyst; Jeff Peterson, BAP program integrity manager and training coordinator; Guy Ewing, a long-time seafood specialist; Dr. Steve Otwell of the Seafood HACCP Alliance; and Birgitte Krogh-Poulson, a social accountability specialist and member of the Global Aquaculture Alliance’s Standards Oversight Committee.
The course covered all the BAP Standards — encompassing processing plants, farms, hatcheries and feed mills — and included a seafood HACCP course for seafood plant auditor candidates. Unique to this course were the presentations and discussions on social accountability led by Krogh-Poulson, participating in her first BAP auditor training course. She gave what amounted to five-hour master class on the social issues facing the seafood sector.
The BAP program integrity team regularly holds auditor training courses around the globe for new auditor candidates and returning auditors requiring refresher training, as well as industry observers interesting in learning more about the about the BAP certification standards and auditing process.
One of the primary functions of the BAP program integrity team is the training and accreditation of qualified individuals as BAP auditors. Course attendees must complete nightly homework assignments and pass an end-of-course exam to qualify to audit against the BAP certification standards.
June’s BAP auditor training course in Bangkok, Thailand, drew a record-high 43 auditors.
