The Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA) is seeking public comment on the Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) standards for mussel farms.
The BAP mussel farm standards address social and environmental responsibility, food safety, animal welfare and traceability. They encompass all production systems for mussels, including cultivation on the seabed or on poles and suspended cultures such as long-line culture and raft-and-rack culture. They also encompass various mussel species, including blue mussels, Chilean mussels, Mediterranean mussels, New Zealand Greenshell mussels and Asian green mussels.
The mussel farm standards will be used as a template for broader mollusk farm standards that cover other commercially important species, including clams, oysters, scallops and abalone.
To submit comments, use the electronic form at www.gaalliance.org/bap/comments.php, e-mail BAP Standards Coordinator Daniel Lee at dangaelle@aol.com or send a fax to +44-1248-716729. The deadline to submit comments is 8 June 2013.
The BAP program currently certifies shrimp farms and hatcheries; salmon, tilapia, channel catfish and Pangasius farms; seafood processing plants and feed mills. New BAP standards for additional finfish and crustacean species will be implemented soon.
