Fifty-One Facilities Join BAP Program In January

The number of Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP)-certified facilities continues to grow, falling one facility shy of the 1,600 mark at the end of January.

Fifty-one facilities joined the BAP third-party aquaculture certification program in January, bringing the total to 1,599 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 at the end of last year, demonstrating the industry’s commitment to responsible aquaculture.

At the end of January, there were a total of 365 BAP-certified processing plants, which collectively produce 2.22 million metric tons of shrimp, salmon, tilapia, pangasius and other seafood species annually.

As for farms, there were a total of 992 BAP-certified farms at the end of January, and the number of BAP-certified hatcheries and feed mills stands at 167 and 75, respectively.

BAP is 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.