The Scottish Salmon Company said Thursday that it has become the first salmon producer in Scotland to seek and attain the certification, “Best Aquaculture Practice”, for all its marine sites.
Earlier this week, Scottish parliamentarians lamented in their Environmental Report that just two Scottish farms were certified by the Aquaculture Stewardship Council. They noted that dozens of Norwegian sites had secured the ASC badge of honour.
Read Big changes coming to Scottish rules
The Global Aquaculture Alliance runs the increasingly popular BAP program to make marine aquaculture compliant with the standards of the Global Food Safety Initiative and the Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative.
Grow-outs for now
The BAP award means the company is committed to growing high-quality salmon in an environmentally friendly and sustainable manner. The award covers the whole production chain from hatcheries to farms to processing plants, although the company specified its marine grow-outs.
“SSC’s BAP certification has been awarded to all of its marine sites on the first stage of the Company’s journey to achieve full BAP accreditation across all its operations,” the company said in a statement.
Export planning
“To be the first salmon producer in Scottish to be awarded BAP certification for all our marine sites is a true recognition of our exacting standards,” Craig Anderson, SSC chief exec, said in a statement.
He said the award was key to the company’s export strategy, especially in the U.S., where restaurants and online retailers demand the BAP certification.
