Chamberlain Talks GAA, BAP In Asia, Chile
Alliance President George Chamberlain represented GAA and the Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) certification program at varied international venues in recent months.
China
Chamberlain presented a talk on “The Role of Industry Associations in Adding Value” at the annual conference of the International Fishmeal and Fish Oil Organisation (IFFO) in Beijing, China, on October 26. He explained GAA’s evolution, including the implementation of its BAP standards, and recommended continued collaboration between GAA and IFFO in their respective certification programs and annual meetings. IFFO is an international non-profit organization that represents fishmeal and fish oil producers and related trades throughout the world. IFFO has developed a global certification program for the responsible supply of fishmeal and fish oil that, like BAP, recognizes the importance of responsible sourcing, production and supply practices. GAA and IFFO are now working toward interconnecting BAP certification and the IFFO responsible supply standards to demonstrate the sustainability of the complete aquaculture supply chain. Indonesia In early October, Chamberlain presented “Global Status of Shrimp Farming” at the Indonesian Aquaculture meeting in Lampung, Indonesia. With a special emphasis on certification, he discussed the importance of sustainability as technology advances in breeding and intensive culture. Chamberlain also addressed disease issues, including the infectious myonecrosis virus that is plaguing Indonesian shrimp farms.
The Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries holds Indoaqua to share new technology with varied stakeholders and highlight innovations in the aquaculture sector.
Thailand
Chamberlain met with representatives of the Thai Board of Trade and
Thai Frozen Food Association September 20 to discuss benchmarking of standards and traceability data. To gain additional credibility in world markets, Thailand established the ThaiGAP program of quality management for farmed products, which certifies food safety. The ThaiGAP standards have been benchmarked to the international Global-GAP system, and there is interest in benchmarking ThaiGAP with the Best Aquaculture Practices certification program for farmed seafood. The meeting was an opportunity for GAA to further collaborate with the newly formed ThaiGAP. Thai shrimp farmers are already recording some traceability data that could be made
compatible with BAP’s required traceability system.
Chile
In Puerto Montt, Chile, Chamberlain made two presentations on certification –
“Trends and Benchmarking” and “Customer and Retailer Views” – in a September 9 meeting
of approximately 70 industry participants called ABCs of Certification. Organized by Adolfo
Avial Associates, the event included presentations about the Best Aquaculture Practices program, GlobalGAP, SalmonChile and the World Wildlife Fund’s salmon standards. On September 10, BAP auditor Giovanni Garofalo visited two major processing plants to conduct
a preassessment audit of compliance with BAP standards.
His analysis indicated that Chilean salmon-processing plants are well positioned to become BAP-certified.
