Milestone: Number Of BAP-Certified Facilities Tops 1,500
It’s official. The number of Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP)-certified facilities has surpassed the 1,500 mark, with the addition of 67 new facilities to the third-party aquaculture certification program last month.
At the end of November, there were a total of 1,527 BAP-certified processing plants, farms, hatcheries and feed mills worldwide, the Global Aquaculture Alliance has announced.
The BAP program has more than doubled in size in the past two years, growing from 701 BAP-certified facilities at the end of 2014 to 1,500-plus facilities today, demonstrating the industry’s commitment to responsible aquaculture.
November’s tally was the BAP program’s second highest of 2016 after June, when a record 74 new facilities earned BAP certification.
Of the 67 new facilities that attained BAP certification in November, eight are processing plants, 49 are farms, nine are hatcheries and one is a feed mill. Over the first 11 months of 2016, 54 processing plants, 390 farms, 73 hatcheries and 20 feed mills attained BAP certification for the first time.
At the end of November, there were a total of 350 BAP-certified processing plants, up from 308 processing plants at the end of 2015. Collectively, they produce 2.24 million metric tons of shrimp, salmon, tilapia, pangasius and other farmed seafood species annually.
As for farms, there were a total of 951 BAP-certified farms at the end of November, up from 606 farms at the end of 2015. The number of BAP-certified hatcheries and feed mills stands at 157 and 69, respectively.
BAP is the world’s leading third-party aquaculture certification program. It’s also the world’s most comprehensive third-party aquaculture certification program, with standards encompassing environmental responsibility, social responsibility, food safety, animal health and welfare and traceability.
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.
