The Global Aquaculture Alliance promotes Best Aquaculture Practices certification at tilapia and channel catfish farms and shrimp hatcheries, farms and processors throughout the world. Additional certification standards are under development for other species of fish -- participate in public comment on proposed standards. The following articles reflect GAA's most recent activities related to the BAP program.

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Malaysia Considers National BAP Program
A recent series of meetings between the Global Aquaculture Alliance and the Malaysia Department of Fisheries (DOF) has led Malaysian officials to consider adopting Best Aquaculture Practices certification as a national program for the country's shrimp industry.
 
The Malaysia DOF has been a long-time supporter of the BAP program. It assisted with a certifier training course in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, in 2004 and arranged for several DOF staff members to attend the course as observers.
 
In a mid-March meeting in Boston this year, GAA President George Chamberlain and Executive Director Wally Stevens encouraged Dr. Mazuki Hashim of the Malaysia Department of Fisheries (DOF) and Dr. Shah Faiez of Blue Archipelago Berhad to adopt BAP on a nationwide basis. Blue Archipelago is a new government venture to promote Malaysia's seafood industry based on the principles of food safety, innovative technology and ecological sustainability.
 
The Boston meeting was followed up by an April 4 meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where Chamberlain, Mazuki and Shah spoke with Malaysia Director General of Fisheries Dato Junaidi and other members of his staff. The Malaysia DOF has since convened a meeting with the private sector of the aquaculture industry in Malaysia, where strong support was expressed for BAP and its new food safety verification elements. GAA and DOF are now considering mechanisms by which BAP certification could be widely implemented in Malaysia.
 
"The Global Aquaculture Alliance applauds the leadership of Malaysia in considering BAP as a national initiative," Chamberlain said. "Since Malaysia is a major exporter of shrimp, such cooperation would greatly add to our efforts to improve the sustainability and food safety of seafood."
 
Chamberlain said that if Malaysia approves a national BAP program, it could serve as a model for wide adoption of BAP certification in other major shrimp-producing countries, such as Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam.
 
Malaysia is also considering the possibility of hosting GAA's Global Outlook for Aquaculture Leadership (GOAL) 2010 conference in Kuala Lumpur.
 
"If Malaysia were to endorse BAP on a national level, the GOAL meeting would be an excellent avenue to showcase the model program to hundreds of leaders of the global seafood industry."
 
ACC Prepares for FDA Audit, Site Inspections
The Aquaculture Certification Council (ACC), the program manager for Best Aquaculture Practices certification, is preparing for a multifaceted review of the BAP program by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Office of Regulatory Affairs.
 
As part of BAP's participation in the FDA Voluntary Third-Party Certification Program for Imported Aquacultured Shrimp, a four-member team from FDA will visit the ACC office in Crystal River, Florida, USA, in May to examine ACC records and procedures for BAP certification. BAP certifications are based on international standards developed by the Global Aquaculture Alliance.
 
In its "paper audit" of the BAP program, the FDA team will review ACC's administrative structure, training and performance records, and inspection audits and corrective action programs. Written protocols and quality manuals for field activities, reporting, laboratory procedures and other activities will also be reviewed.
 
ACC Director of Certification William More and Administrator Betty More will coordinate the FDA visit and schedule follow-up supplier audits of farms and processing plants in Honduras, Nicaragua, Ecuador and Indonesia in July and August.
 
Jeff Peterson, ACC director of quality assurance, will accompany FDA team members and selected inspectors during the field audits. The FDA staff will "shadow" BAP evaluators during inspections of processing plants and certification reviews of farms.
 
William More said ACC has been preparing for the FDA review for months.
 
"I am confident that the depth and scope of the BAP program and the qualifications of ACC personnel will convince FDA that ACC is qualified to assist in moving forward with the pilot program to improve and verify food safety programs in third-world countries," More said.
 
SOC Reviews Continued BAP Expansion at Brussels Meeting
Members at the April 28 meeting of the Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) Standards Oversight Committee (SOC) considered both positive advances and probable changes in the growth of BAP certification around the world.
 
Standards Development
At the meeting, held opposite the European Seafood Exposition in Brussels, Belgium, attendees learned that progress continues on the BAP standards for farm operations that raise salmon and/or trout in net pens in saltwater.
 
The SOC considered the membership of the new Salmon Farm Technical Committee proposed by Chairman John Forster. After consulting with many individuals and groups in the salmon community, Dr. Forster provided a slate of members composed of stakeholders from industry associations, non-governmental organizations and academic institutions. The SOC was expected to approve the committee membership.
 
To assist the salmon committee, Dr. Claude Boyd of Auburn University in Alabama, USA, is performing an extensive literature review of international regulations and other standards related to salmon culture that will help lead to a preliminary draft for salmon farm standards. Forster estimated that initial committee drafts will be done by June. A final committee draft should be available by September.
 
The Feed Mill Technical Committee is still dealing with earlier feedback from the SOC and refinement of the requirements for declaration of the fishmeal and fish oil content in finished feed products. The resulting standards will be more clear and consistent than in early drafts and may lead to adjustments that reclassify critical and scored questions in audits for other types of facilities in the BAP program.
 
Preliminary drafts of certification standards for Pangasius farms have been slowed by potential changes in how BAP evaluates farm use of fishmeal and other marine-based ingredients in feed. The Pangasius Farm Technical Committee is also evaluating recent output from the World Wildlife Fund dialogue on Pangasius.
 
The Best Aquaculture Practices program currently has hatchery standards for shrimp only. SOC discussions continue on how best to proceed with hatchery standards for other species.
 
Alliance Update
In an administrative update to the SOC, Global Aquaculture Alliance Executive Director Wally Stevens and BAP Business Development Manager Peter Redmond discussed current issues facing the BAP program. These included ongoing changes in the management of BAP certification that are leading to the use of ISO 65-accredited certification bodies in a process directed by the Aquaculture Certification Council (ACC).
 
The BAP standards for seafood processing plants are being benchmarked against Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) guidelines. Redmond said the benchmarking came at the insistence of the market, which sees the effort as critical for the harmonization -- and related reduction -- of various global and regional food safety standards.
 
ACC Progress
ACC President Jim Heerin said the GFSI benchmarking application will be submitted in June. Under it, ISO 65-accredited certification bodies will be engaged to audit facility compliance with BAP standards, but only auditors who have taken and passed ACC training programs will be qualified to perform BAP audits. Heerin also discussed progress on the concept of Integrated Operating Modules (IOMs), in which processing plants take a lead in encouraging smaller farmers to achieve BAP certification.
 
Director of Quality Assurance Jeffrey Peterson summarized the status of the BAP program. Over 80 seafood processing plants and 50 farms are currently certified, representing annual production of approximately 400,000 mt of shrimp, 44,000 mt of tilapia and 8,000 mt of channel catfish. Additional tilapia farms in Ecuador, China and Thailand are expected to be certified in the near future.
 
Some SOC members stated they wished the BAP program to be ISO 65 compliant in covering social and environmental issues as well as food safety. Heerin said that within two months he will provide a proposed schedule under which this may be achieved. Since additional external bodies will be involved, program costs will rise, he said.
 
BAP Discussions With China Bureau Expand
China's Administration for Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) food safety bureau and the Global Aquaculture Alliance have held further discussions about testing the food safety elements of the Best Aquaculture Practices standards at shrimp and tilapia facilities in China.
 
GAA Executive Director Wally Stevens recently met with AQSIQ Director General of Import and Export Yu Taiwei to continue discussions that began during GAA's GOAL 2008 meeting in Qingdao, China, where a top AQSIQ official delivered the keynote address.
 
GAA has proposed that AQSIQ review details of the current BAP standards, which would be followed by AQSIQ inspectors evaluating existing BAP-certified facilities in China.
 
Stevens said Yu had a positive reaction to the proposal, noting that "China's reaction to GAA's proposal is consistent with that country's new food safety initiatives." Those initiatives focus on prevention, Stevens said, including early detection, early warning and early intervention to address food safety.
 
"China is the leading producer of aquaculture products in the world," Stevens said. "This is a wonderful example of how our standards can help producing countries with a broad range of issues."
 
Redmond Represents GAA, BAP at Sainsbury's Meeting, Canada Forum
BAP Business Development Manager Peter Redmond gave an overview of the Global Aquaculture Alliance and Best Aquaculture Practices certification to suppliers, aquaculture farmers and other members of the Sainsbury's Supermarkets business unit during a May 1 meeting on sourcing responsibly produced shrimp organized by Sainsbury's in London.
 
One of Sainsbury's core principles is "sourcing with integrity," which involves being fair to farmers and suppliers, as well as using sustainable resources in all products. Programs like BAP can help the company reach pending milestones in seafood sourcing, Redmond said.
 
In late February, Redmond gave the keynote address at the Canadian Aquaculture Standards Forum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In his presentation to retailers, producers and government representatives, Redmond provided background on the evolution of sustainability in aquaculture as well as an overview of recent progress in the BAP program.
 
"The Canadian industry is organizing itself and considering what forms of certification program would benefit it the most," Redmond said. "Especially as we progress with the BAP standards for salmon farms, BAP has a lot to offer in addressing key environmental and social issues, as well as food safety."
 
Lee Provides Input on IFFO Supply Standard
BAP Standards Coordinator Daniel Lee participated in a May 5 International Fishmeal and Fish Oil Organisation Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) meeting in London that considered IFFO's new Responsible Supply Standard (RSS).
 
The standard will require fishmeal and fish oil producers to deliver safe products sourced from responsibly managed fisheries. In the future, the Best Aquaculture Practices program may require the use of RSS fishmeal and fish oil in aquafeeds at BAP-certified facilities.
 
Peter Marshall and Dave Garforth of International Food Quality Certification (IFQC) are drafting the RSS and proposing structures and procedures for certification.
 
Most of the Europeans on the TAC said they wanted the RSS to focus on responsible sourcing and leave feed safety aspects to existing programs such as the Feed Ingredient Standard (IFIS) of the International Feed Safety Alliance. Thus, IFFO's supply standard could insist on compliance with IFIS as a prerequisite.
 
However, Lee considers that approach a "blunt instrument" for delivering safe fishmeal and fish oil in places such as Asia, where IFIS is not widely applied. Instead, he suggested the TAC should develop a more targeted safety standard based on well-established HACCP requirements.
 
IFQC is running pilot tests with the draft RSS in Peru and Denmark. The Peruvian anchovy fishery is in good shape and likely could be certified as "responsibly managed," Lee said.