GOAL 2011
Media Contacts
General Inquiries
Sally Krueger, Assistant Director
+1-314-293-5500 sallyk@gaalliance.org
Best Aquaculture Practices Certification
Program Development
Peter Redmond, Vice President of Development
+1-479-530-8768 predmond@gaalliance.org
Best Aquaculture Practices Certification
Standards Development
Daniel Lee, BAP Standards Coordinator
+44-1248-712906 dangaelle@aol.com
Current Issues
Wally Stevens, Executive Director
+1-617-571-9717 wallys@gaalliance.org
Technical Questions
George Chamberlain, President
+1-314-607-8466 georgec@gaalliance.org
Technical Questions
Darryl Jory, Editor, Global Aquaculture Advocate
+1-407-366-8905 editorgaadvocate@aol.com
Newsroom

For over a decade, the Global Aquaculture Alliance has published and distributed science-based information on seafood and responsible aquaculture.

GAA is a leading trade resource for regulatory and voluntary programs that improve the quality and availability of wholesome seafood.

GAA News Releases

The Best Aquaculture Practices program has awarded its first certification of a salmon-processing facility to Multiexport Foods S.A. The vertically integrated salmon-farming company's plant in Puerto Montt, Chile, received the certification Jan. 16.

Four salmon farms operated in British Columbia, Canada, by Grieg Seafood B.C. Ltd. have achieved Best Aquaculture Practices certification. Family-owned Grieg Seafood rears its "craft-raised" Skuna Bay Salmon at these farms. "(Skuna Bay's) leadership inspires aquaculturists around the world to strive for this global standard of excellence," GAA President George Chamberlain said.

Best Aquaculture Practices has further advanced as the leading international certification program for aquaculture by certifying its first salmon farm, Mainstream Canada's Brent Island farm near Campbell River, British Columbia, Canada.

The Global Aquaculture Alliance shares the goal of a recent Pew Environmental Group-funded study on seafood ecolabels: a more sustainable marine aquaculture industry. The approach of quantifying standards is useful, but the utility of the comparative scores is limited by the study's scope, interpretation and inferred equivalency of organic, draft and operational mainstream standards.

The BAP program has expanded its international marketing team with the addition of Roy Palmer as business development manager for Australasia. Palmer will help manage relationships with seafood suppliers, buyers, retailers and foodservice outlets on the Australian continent for BAP, the world's leading aquaculture certification program.

GOAL 2011 is under way in Santiago, Chile, with an audience of over 350 and a program that highlights the need to rapidly expand aquaculture to meet the world's ballooning seafood demands.

"We know we need to grow," GAA Executive Director Wally Stevens said, "but how do we get there? GOAL brings leaders of the various aquaculture sectors together to consider the challenges, examine courses of action and, hopefully, begin to develop solutions that will set us in the right direction as we work to double aquaculture output within a decade."

One of the most important editions of the annual Global Outlook for Aquaculture Leadership (GOAL) conference will begin November 6 in Santiago, Chile, with over 350 international participants and a program that highlights the need to rapidly expand aquaculture to meet rising global seafood demands.

Dr. Alejandro Buschmann, head of i-mar Research Center and former director of research and graduate school at the Universidad de Los Lagos in Puerto Montt, Chile, has been appointed to the Best Aquaculture Practices Standards Oversight Committee. He replaces Dr. Charles Santerre, who has served on the SOC since its inception.
Emil Avalon has joined the Best Aquaculture Practices marketing team as BAP's new business development manager for Europe. Avalon will help manage relationships with seafood suppliers, buyers, retailers and foodservice outlets in the United Kingdom and other European countries.
The Global Aquaculture Alliance has selected Lisa Goché as vice president of the Best Aquaculture Practices division of GAA. She will work closely with BAP Director William More in overseeing the certification process, coordinating with ISO 65 auditing firms and assisting as GAA’s Technical and Standards Oversight Committees update the BAP standards.
Best Aquaculture Practices has expanded its international marketing team with the addition of Molly Metcalf as BAP’s new business development manager for North America. Metcalf will help manage relationships with seafood suppliers, buyers, retailers and foodservice outlets in the United States and Canada.
The Global Aquaculture Alliance is introducing a new option for achieving the traceability required for Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) certification. Later this year, facilities that apply for or renew their BAP certifications can use either the current online verification or a chain of custody verification. Either approach will be verified during the third-party audits of the facilities.
The Global Aquaculture Alliance has named Janet Vogel as its new manager for the Global Aquaculture Advocate magazine. Vogel will coordinate advertising sales, production and distribution for “The Global Magazine for Farmed Seafood.”
The Global Aquaculture Alliance has expanded the Best Aquaculture Practices certification program with the completion of BAP standards for salmon farms. "This is another big step forward for BAP," GAA Executive Director Wally Stevens said. "The program now covers another very important species via international guidelines that protect the environment, worker rights and animal welfare, while also addressing food safety and traceability."
Best Aquaculture Practices has added leading inspection and verification company SGS to its international team of auditing bodies. The independent contractor will perform facility inspections and certification audits for aquaculture farms, hatcheries, processing plants and feed mills that apply for BAP certification.
Representatives of the Global Aquaculture Alliance will visit Santiago, Chile, June 20-23 to promote the upcoming GOAL 2011 conference on aquaculture seafood. They will make a presentation and answer questions during a press conference to be held June 23 at 8:30 a.m. in the Elqui Room of the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Santiago. Contact goalchile@gaalliance.org to confirm participation.
Best Aquaculture Practices, the leading global certification system for farmed seafood, has gained Thai Union Group as its largest “four-star” aquaculture operation. Thai Union, whose widely recognized retail brands include Chicken of the Sea, Sealect and John West, is a leading producer and exporter of frozen and canned seafood.
Wakefern Food Corp. recently confirmed its commitment to the Best Aquaculture Practices program and will work with its suppliers to meet sustainability goals through BAP certification at both the farm and processor levels.The company also has plans to require feed and hatchery certification.
The Global Aquaculture Alliance has entered a partnership with Wegmans Food Markets to develop guidelines for the supermarket chain's aquaculture program that require suppliers to source seafood from environmentally responsible sources.
Aquaculture expert Ken Corpron has been selected as the new Asia-Pacific coordinator for Best Aquaculture Practices, the leading global certification program for aquaculture facilities. Corpron has decades of experience in the international aquaculture sector and assisted with initial efforts of the BAP program to certify shrimp farms in Thailand.
In a special March 21 conference session during the International Boston Seafood Show, a panel of experts from the United States, China, Malaysia and Chile addressed the major changes in global seafood markets that will soon face the aquaculture industry.
On March 14, QVD Aquaculture's farm and processing plant in the Dong Thap province of Vietnam became the Best Aquaculture Practices program's first two-star certified Pangasius facilities.
The Lunds and Byerly’s supermarket chains have joined the growing list of retailers, foodservice operators and distributors that have adopted GAA’s Best Aquaculture Practices certification for farmed seafood.
The public comment period for the new Best Aquaculture Practices certification standards for salmon farms has been extended to Jan. 20. To participate, go to www.gaalliance.org/bap/comments.php and return comments via the online form. Comments can also be sent via e-mail or fax to Daniel Lee (dangaelle@aol.com, +44-1248-716729) or John Forster (salmonbap@gaalliance.org).
As 2011 begins, the Best Aquaculture Practices program will celebrate the second anniversary of the first tilapia farm certified to the BAP standards. Elite Aquaculture Co., Ltd., a large, vertically integrated farm in southeastern China, was initially certified in January of 2009. It and dozens of other BAP farms now produce almost 73,000 metric tons of tilapia a year.
NBC’s November 17 Today Show broadcast a sensationalized report on the safety of seafood imported to the United States that inaccurately portrayed sanitary conditions and animal health practices at aquaculture farms.

Companies within the Best Aquaculture Practices certification program can share with their customers, business partners and consumers that participation in BAP provides assurances that seafood is produced with food safety as the top priority.
A draft of the new Best Aquaculture Practices standards for salmon farms is now posted for public comment. Comments can be sent via the online form or through e-mail or fax to BAP Standards Coordinator Daniel Lee or Technical Committee Chairman John Forster. Interested parties must submit comments by Jan. 10, 2011.
With the certification of its first feed mill and associated "four-star" aquaculture operation, the Best Aquaculture Practices program continues to progress. On Nov. 9, Asian Feed Co., Ltd. in Thayang, Petchburi, Thailand became the first BAP-certified feed mill. Its parent company, Asian Seafoods Coldstorage Public Co., Ltd., became BAP's first four-star company.
GAA's October 17-20 GOAL 2010 meeting revealed global trends that are driving seafood demand and sustainable solutions for increased aquaculture productivity. Its momentous conclusions helped buyers and producers adjust their strategic plans to avoid potential disruptions in supply and demand.
Several Malaysian government officials formally welcomed the hundreds of participants who attended GAA's October 17-20 Global Outlook for Aquaculture Leadership conference in Kuala Lumpur. The event was co-hosted by the Malaysia Department of Fisheries. Following is the text of the address given by Dato' Ahmad Sabki Mahmood, Director General of Fisheries Malaysia.
Several Malaysian government officials formally welcomed the hundreds of participants who attended GAA's October 17-20 Global Outlook for Aquaculture Leadership conference in Kuala Lumpur. The event was co-hosted by the Malaysia Department of Fisheries. Following is the text of the address given by Y. B. Dato’ Wira Mohd Johari Bin Baharum, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry Malaysia.
A new service agreement between BAP Certification Management and John Bean Technologies, Ltd./Food Audits International will allow the independent contractor to perform inspections and audits for aquaculture farms, hatcheries and processing plants that participate in BAP certification.
Chile's positive response to a disease outbreak that severely impacted the country’s salmon farming industry will be highlighted in a special session of the November 6-9 GOAL 2011 conference in Santiago.
The Global Aquaculture Alliance has expanded the scope of Best Aquaculture Practices certification with the completion of BAP standards for Pangasius farms. The new standards apply only to pond culture and share many points with the BAP standards for other fish species: conservation of biodiversity, soil and water management, drug and chemical management, and others.
The Global Aquaculture Alliance will present Global Outlook for Aquaculture Leadership (GOAL) 2010 October 17-20 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to provide international seafood professionals with key information on today's seafood supplies and tomorrow's market trends in fish and shrimp aquaculture. In particular, GOAL 2010 will reveal important insights on Asian aquaculture and its rapidly emerging internal markets.
California, USA-based Raley's has announced that raw and cooked shrimp sold at its Raley's, Bel Air Markets, Nob Hill Markets and Food Source stores will now be sourced from BAP-certified facilities. Raley's is also working on broadening its selection of seafood products that carry the Best Aquaculture Practices mark.
Delhaize America – parent company for over 1,500 Food Lion, Bloom, Bottom Dollar, Hannaford Bros., Harveys and Sweetbay supermarkets in the United States – is requiring its fish and shellfish suppliers to source all farmed seafood from BAP-certified facilities by March 2011.
Drafts of the new Best Aquaculture Practices standards for Pangasius farms are now posted for public comment. Interested parties must submit comments by March 31. The new standards apply only to facilities that raise Pangasius in ponds.
Best Aquaculture Practices certification for farmed seafood has become a key element of the Seafood Sustainability Policy of Kroger Co., the United States’ largest traditional grocery retailer. The BAP retail mark will soon appear on Kroger’s private-label shrimp, tilapia and channel catfish items.
Pescanova USA’s dynamic Chief Executive Officer Domingo Moreira has joined the board of directors of the Global Aquaculture Alliance. “GAA is indeed fortunate to have people of Domingo’s caliber join its board," GAA Vice President Bill Herzig said. Moreira takes over from Antonio Pino, who served since 2008.
The Global Aquaculture Alliance has added another link to its Best Aquaculture Practices certification program by completing BAP standards for feed mill certification. Feed manufacturers can now achieve BAP certification by contacting Best Aquaculture Practices Certification Management, formerly the Aquaculture Certification Council.
The Global Aquaculture Alliance Best Aquaculture Practices certification program has been successfully benchmarked against Global Food Safety Initiative food safety requirements. Seafood-processing plants can now achieve both BAP certification and GFSI compliance through a single audit process.
Iconic Seafood Champion K. Dun Gifford Passes at 71. Lifelong seafood advocate passed away in his home in Exeter, New Hampshire.
Continued progress in standards development and market reach was reported at the March Standards Oversight Committee meeting in Boston. The BAP feed mill standards were approved for release pending final changes. The Integrated Operating Module program, which combines small shrimp farms under a single administrative identity for certification, was updated.
The Global Aquaculture Alliance is updating its communications program for 2010 with an expanded focus on electronic media. Look for a new website design and new digital magazine, as well as more frequent issues of the GAA Update e-mail newsletter.
The new year presents new ways to support responsible aquaculture, as the Global Aquaculture Alliance has revised its membership structure. GAA’s new Individual Membership level provides benefits not previously offered.
Pete Bridson, aquaculture research manager at the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Department of Conservation Outreach, has been appointed to the Standards Oversight Committee that oversees the development of the Global Aquaculture Alliance Best Aquaculture Practices certification program.
The Best Aquaculture Practices certification process will transition from using individual evaluators to inspect facilities to coordinating with inspectorates certified by the International Organization for Standardization during 2010. All evaluators must meet basic education and experience requirements, and receive BAP training.
Sodexo, a leading food and facilities services management company, will require Best Aquaculture Practices certification for all of its contracted purchases of aquaculture seafood products sold in North America by 2015. The decision is a key step in sourcing sustainable seafood throughout the company's global operations.
As the global leader in the development of science-based aquaculture standards, the Global Aquaculture Alliance supports any effort to advance the development of responsible aquaculture. However, work with retailers in particular has shown that they want the "one-stop shop" that BAP provides -- not an approach of having to patch together various programs that cover only a portion of what BAP offers.
The BAP Standards Oversight Committee recently approved the membership of the new Salmon Farm Technical Committee, a 12-person group that will draft Best Aquaculture Practices certification standards for salmon farms. The technical committee includes representatives from industry, the NGO community and academia.