New BAP farm standard open for public comment
July 28, 2020
By ANA staff
The Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA) has opened up the latest version – issue 3.0 – of its Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) Farm Standard for public comment over the next 60 days.
The 60-day public comment period expires on Sept. 26.
The renamed BAP Farm Standard replaces Issue 2.4 of the BAP Finfish and Crustacean Farm Standard, released on May 23, 2017. The new standard now covers all eligible fed aquaculture species, but BAP will continue to maintain a separate farm standard for salmonids raised in marine net pens. Unfed mollusk species such as mussels and oysters will continue to be covered under the BAP Mollusk Standard, the GAA explained.
The new BAP Farm Standard contains a number of new requirements under BAP’s four pillars of sustainability — food safety, social accountability, environmental responsibility and animal welfare. Traceability requirements have also been updated. Specific environmental monitoring approaches for recirculating aquaculture systems and coastal flow-through systems have been added, and the requirements for efficient use of key feed ingredients such as fishmeal, soybean meal and oils have been updated, with new limits set for the BAP fish-in fish-out (FIFO) ratios for many species.
The public may submit their comments by downloading the BAP Farm Standard Issue 3.0 comment form and submit the form to dan.lee@aquaculturealliance.org and david.yunker@bapcertification.org. The standard can be found here.
