August 5, 2020 — In July, the Global Aquaculture Alliance released a guidance document for aquaculture facilities to reduce the transmission of COVID-19, under its Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) third-party certification program.
The guidance “is intended to act as a resource for seafood processing facilities seeking best practices to keep their employees healthy and limit the exposure to and the spread of COVID-19,” according to the organization.
July 13, 2020 — The Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA) has announced it has submitted an application for The Consumer Goods Forum’s (CGF) Sustainable Supply Chain Initiative (SSCI) benchmark for its Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) certification program.
The benchmark application is the first step in achieving SSCI recognition for meeting “industry expectations for third-party social compliance programs,” according to a press release from GAA. The application makes BAP the first certification program to apply, according to GAA.
May 12, 2020 — The Global Aquaculture Alliance announced on Tuesday, 12 May, its annual Global Outlook for Aquaculture Leadership (GOAL) conference will be completely virtual this year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
GOAL 2020 will be held from 6 to 8 October as previously scheduled, with six to eight program sessions per day. Access to the first day of the conference will be offered free of charge to members of seafood associations and other strategic partners worldwide.
April 28, 2020 — A virus that has plagued shrimp farmers in China since 2014 may be rebounding with a vengeance, this time in Guangdong Province, a crucial hub for aquaculture production in the country.
The South China Morning Post reported on 12 April that Decapod iridescent virus 1 (DIV1) had been detected once more in a number of shrimp farms in the southern province of Guangdong, along the Pearl River Delta, as of February 2020. According to the newspaper, about a quarter of shrimp farming operations in the province have been infected by the current outbreak, which previously struck stocks in China at the start of 2019 before summer temperatures prevailed.
April 1, 2020 — Certification programs are adjusting practices and policies in response to safety concerns around the COVID-19 pandemic, in an effort to support businesses in an already challenged industry.
The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), the Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA), and Fair Trade have all made initial accommodations to reduce travel and in-person interaction while retaining the integrity of their programs. Each organization is also in the process of assessing their specific procedures for potential further changes as they monitor the global situation relating to COVID-19.
March 13, 2020 — The Global Aquaculture Alliance and other companies and nonprofits involved in the seafood industry have rescheduled events originally planned for Seafood Expo North America to online meetings and webinars.
The GAA Stakeholder Update Meeting will take place as a webinar on 19 March at 11 a.m. EST. GAA board and committee meetings, which are closed to the public, will also be held online.
March 2, 2020 — The Global Aquaculture Alliance’s Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) certification program continued to grow in 2019, with 2,681 BAP-certified processing plants, farms, hatcheries and feed mills worldwide by the end of the year. That’s up almost 15 percent from the program’s 2018 count, according to the GAA’s annual report.
Created by the GAA in 2008, BAP has the mission of providing quantitative guidelines for evaluations of best practices in aquaculture.
February 20, 2020 — The Global Aquaculture Alliance, which operates the Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) certification, has announced an extension period for Chinese seafood companies in the process of applying for BAP certification.
A statement from GAA Communications Manager Steven Hedlund said the extension was granted as a result of the outbreak of the 2019-nCoV coronavirus, which has disrupted business in China.
February 11, 2020 — With both aquaculture standards and fisheries management practices improving steadily, panelists at a roundtable discussion hosted by the Global Aquaculture Alliance said it is time for the seafood industry to call a cease-fire in the “wild versus farmed” debate and launch a joint effort to increase U.S. seafood consumption across the board.
The debate, titled “Come Together: Uniting the Wild and Farmed Seafood Sectors,” focused on how the U.S. seafood industry help land more seafood onto American dinner plates.
November 22, 2019 — The Marine Ingredients Organization (IFFO) and the Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA) have released a full report on Southeast Asian fisheries, containing data not previously released.
In 2017, IFFO and GAA commissioned a study highlighting Southeast Asian fisheries and their fishmeal relevance, producing a final report that was delivered to Fish Matter’s Duncan Leadbitter and published recently. The initial report championed “a requirement for accurate, comprehensive, and up-to-date information as being of prime importance to the management of the sustainability of the aquaculture supply chain,” IFFO explained in a press release. Ultimately, the report concluded that “an integrated approach, based on the concept of collaboration” was the best route to positive impact.