Group, ‘Barrio’ Certifications Focus Of Puerto Montt BAP Seminar

The Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) team just wrapped up a successful two-day seminar on the BAP third-party certification program at the Puerto Montt Manquehue Hotel in Puerto Montt, Chile, drawing 12 senior auditors and 15 industry observers.

The course centered on two species, salmon and mussels, and two types of BAP certification, group and multi-site zone cluster, or “barrio,” certification.

The multi-site zone cluster certification allows an applicant with multiple farm sites in a federally set zone, known as a barrio or neighborhood, to apply for BAP certification for more than one site at a time. In addition to multi-site zone cluster, farms can be certified as a group.

The seminar was offered to a select group of auditors qualified to perform group and barrio audits.

The salmon sector was well represented, with auditors who have audited farms in Chile, Scotland, Ireland, eastern and western Canada, United States, Australia and New Zealand, as well as industry observers from the major salmon producers in Chile.

The seminar was led by BAP Training Coordinator Jeff Peterson, BAP Market Development Manager-Supply Chain Marcos Moya and Carolina Senn, BAP’s Chile country coordinator.

This is the second time in eight months that BAP has held a seminar in Chile. A one-day seminar in Puerto Montt last July drew nearly 90 attendees.