Global Aquaculture Alliance Completes BAP Certification Standards for Pangasius Farms

The Global Aquaculture Alliance has expanded the scope of the Best Aquaculture Practices certification program with the completion of BAP standards for Pangasius farms, reports www.megafishnet.com with reference to AquaFeed.Com.

"With the addition of Pangasius to the BAP ‘suite' of fish and shrimp certifications, the BAP program can now serve an even wider public around the world," GAA Executive Director Wally Stevens said. "We are also nearing completion of the BAP salmon farm standards, which will address another very important species with international standards that protect the environment, animal welfare and worker rights while also addressing food safety and traceability."

The Pangasius standards are the result of work by a technical committee chaired by Philippe Serene, an experienced aquaculture professional and former BAP auditor based in Vietnam. The standards development process benefited from a public review in which comments were received from both conservationists and aquaculture professionals, as well as multiple meetings with aquaculture representatives in Vietnam, the primary producer of Pangasius. The standards were finalized following reviews by the BAP Standards Oversight Committee.

The BAP standards and guidelines for Pangasius farms, which share many points with the BAP standards for other fish species, apply only to pond culture, which has emerged as the primary commercial culture system for Pangasius. BAP certification requires conservation of biodiversity, soil and water management, and drug and chemical management.

Regular monitoring of water quality and effluents is also required. The high density typical of Pangasius pond culture led to BAP requirements for sedimentation ponds to handle effluent and standards that protect the safety of divers who clear sludge from pond bottoms during production.

The Global Aquaculture Alliance develops the Best Aquaculture Practices standards in conjunction with species-specific technical committees under the direction of a Standards Oversight Committee. Over 1.3 billion pounds of shrimp, tilapia and catfish are processed to the BAP standards annually.

For additional information on the Best Aquaculture Practices program, contact Peter Redmond or Daniel Lee. Pangasius farms can achieve BAP certification by contacting Best Aquaculture Practices Certification Management, formerly the Aquaculture Certification Council, at www.aquaculturecertification.org