The Best Aquaculture Practices certification program has expanded its international marketing team with the addition of Roy Palmer as BAP''s new business development manager for Australasia.

Roy Palmer

Roy Palmer

Mr Palmer will help manage relationships with seafood suppliers, buyers, retailers and foodservice outlets on the Australian continent for BAP.

BAP Vice President of Development, Peter Redmond, said, "This is a very committed decision by the Global Aquaculture Alliance, the organisation that develops the BAP standards. As more and more retailers in different areas of the globe start requiring responsibly produced aquaculture, they are recognising that the BAP program offers the most thorough and comprehensive program.

"The Australian and New Zealand retail and foodservice operators are also realising the important role they play in this global industry. Roy Palmer's appointment will be pivotal in helping drive the initiative forward in these markets. We are extremely fortunate to have found someone as talented and well respected as Roy to execute this role."

Palmer is a seafood professional who has been involved in all facets of the post-harvest industry since the early 1970s. He has operated import-export-trading businesses and for 13 years ran a successful chain of seafood retail establishments in Melbourne, Australia. He is a qualified seafood trainer and one of only a few people in Australia to possess a Diploma in Seafood Processing.

Additionally, he has represented the Australian seafood industry in areas that include SeaQual, Seafood Services Australia, Seafood Experience Australia, Seafood Training Australia, Agri-Food Skills Australia and the Australian Fish Names Committee.

Mr Palmer is a past president of the Asia-Pacific Chapter of the World Aquaculture Society and is currently involved in Aquaculture Without Frontiers and the Global Initiative for Life & Leadership Through Seafood.