To become certified, applicants initially review and complete an application to enter the BAP program. Once accepted, facilities must undergo a site inspection and present specified production records for traceability for at least three months. After successful inspection, facilities pay a certification fee based on total annual seafood production. Processing Plants, Farms, Hatcheries, Feed Mills BAP Certification Steps 1. Review standards and guidelines, and submit a completed Certification Application Form. (See Certification Forms page for the form and guidelines appropriate to your type of facility.) In addition to supplying contact and general facility information, applicants must answer all questions in the included self-audit, which reflects the audit used during BAP site inspections. Adjacent farms with the same owner(s) that draw water from and discharge water to the same sources should supply the farm names on a single application and pay a single application fee. 2. BAP Certification Management returns a certification agreement and invoice for application and inspection fees. All accepted applicants receive an invoice and payment instructions for the U.S. $500 application fee and subsequent inspection fee. The annual inspection fees are $3,000 for farms and shrimp hatcheries, or $5,000 for processing plants and feed mills. Plants that repack product from other BAP-certified facilities also pay a $5,000 inspection fee. To accommodate small operations, fees for farms of less than 50 hectares area and/or producing less than 100 metric tons of whole product per year may be adjusted. Fees for shrimp hatcheries that produce less than 10 million postlarvae per month may also be adjusted. 3. BAP Certification Management Group assigns an auditor. After considering possible conflicts of interest, BAP selects an appropriate ISO-certified certification body, passes on applicants' information and arranges an inspection date. 4. Complete site inspection. BAP inspections for hatcheries typically take one day. Farms generally require one to two days, while processing plant inspections and feed mills can take two or three days, assuming records, permits and other pertinent documents are current and available. During site inspections, auditors review records, observe procedures and consider human resources. At most facilities, they sample effluents to determine compliance with BAP criteria. For processing plants and repacking plants, auditors collect samples of finished product from three lots and forward them to BAP-approved laboratories for testing. At shrimp hatcheries, auditors take random stock samples to verify their health status regarding the diseases for which claims are made. The applicant is responsible for all testing costs. To be certified, facilities must comply with all of the BAP inspection requirements. Auditors report evaluation results to the facility and BAP within 10 working days following the inspection. Facilities have up to one year from the date of application to be certified. In some cases, facilities unable to certify within this period that are working on updates may be granted a limited extension of time to comply with the BAP guidelines. 5. Pay program certification fee. After successful inspection and review, facilities pay a certification fee based on production volume in the previous calendar year. Farms with annual production of up to 500 metric tons of whole shrimp or fish pay a minimum fee of U.S. $500. Farms with greater production add $1 for each metric ton beyond 500 to the minimum fee, up to a maximum of $4,000. For example, a farm with 700 metric tons of annual production would pay the $500 minimum plus an additional $200 for the 200 metric tons over 500, for a total of $700. Adjacent farms with the same owner(s) that draw water from and discharge water to the same sources pay a single program certification fee based on the total combined annual productions of the adjacent farms. The maximum program certification fee for such farms is U.S. $4,000. Certification fees for processing plants are based on the amount of finished product exported worldwide in the previous calendar year. Plants with annual exports of up to 1,000 metric tons of product pay a minimum fee of U.S. $2,000. Those with greater exports add $2 for each additional metric ton, up to a maximum of $12,000. Reprocessing and repacking plants that repack product from other BAP-certified facilities pay a U.S. $1,000 certification fee. Shrimp hatcheries pay a certification fee of $500. Certification fees for feed mills are based on the amount of finished product manufactured in the previous calendar year. Mills pay U.S. $1 per 10 metric tons of product with a minimum fee of $2,000 and maximum of $8,000. 6. Check website for company listing. Once the facility is approved for certification and all fees are paid, a unique certification number is assigned to the facility, a certification certificate is issued and the facility is added to the online list of certified facilities. Unless instructed otherwise by the applicant, facility names and locations are made public. Other individualized information is kept confidential and not shared with or sold to other parties. Certified facilities may include the Best Aquaculture Practices certification mark in advertising and on retail packaging as provided in the Facility Certification Agreement and referenced publications. 7. Maintain records and input traceability data. Certified farms must maintain records for each production unit on seed, feed, chemical use, effluent water quality and harvest as outlined in the Traceability section of the standards guidelines. Certified processing plants must keep records for each lot that include data on farm and plant lots, and distribution information. Certified shrimp hatcheries must maintain production records for each rearing tank and production lot that include data on postlarvae species, sources, and chemical and feed use. Certified feed mills must record data on ingredient sources, formulation details and drug inclusion for each production run. A portion of this data must also be uploaded to the Trace Register online traceability system that allows each processed lot to be traced back to its pond and inputs of origin. To participate in the required traceability system, facilities must pay a basic annual fee and an incremental fee for each registered traceability document.
Certification Process
To be considered for Best Aquaculture Practices certification, applicants must complete the following steps. Initial BAP certification remains in effect for one year. In successive years, facilities have up to 60 days after the certification anniversary date to complete recertification.
