Manager of Standards Oversight
Global Seafood Alliance
The scope of what can be considered responsible aquaculture has shifted tremendously over the quarter-century that the Global Seafood Alliance (GSA) has operated Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP). Certification programs like BAP must constantly adapt to account for increasingly complex issues and interventions. No sector has embodied this challenge more in recent years than aquaculture feeds (or aquafeeds), where sustainability drives marketplace decisions and certification is the preferred means of demonstrating responsible ingredient sourcing.
BAP has always stood upon a foundation of continual improvement, focused on measured, inclusive progress for aquaculture producers of all scales, sophistications, and geographies wanting to demonstrate best practices. All BAP certification standards – whether they’re designed for farms, feed mills, hatcheries, or seafood processors – are complete, holistic and require that 100 percent of production meets the standard requirements.
GSA’s vision is for responsible seafood to address the world’s increasing nutrition needs. To achieve this, we will represent best practices from all corners of the globe and safeguard the investment made by certified producers. Since the organization’s founding (as the Global Aquaculture Alliance in 1998), this philosophy of continual improvement has driven the development of all of our certification programs, as we seek to identify the necessary gaps that could hinder responsible production and sourcing claims.
In response to marketplace concerns about the impacts of aquaculture, the initial focus of the BAP program was limited to address concerns regarding food safety and habitat destruction in the emerging shrimp farming industry. As these gaps were addressed, others emerged, and the BAP program eventually evolved into a four-star system, assuring best practices at nearly 4,000 processors, farms, hatcheries, feed mills and processing plants around the world.
Responsible aquafeed production has been a tenet of BAP certification for more than 15 years. The first BAP Feed Mill Standard was released in 2010, outlining key priorities related to the social welfare of workers, community engagement, food safety and environmental stewardship. This standard also marked the beginning of BAP’s longstanding journey of engaging with feed mills beyond certification, with a focus on long-term commitment and improvement.
At that time, a goal for the standard’s evolution was already set: By 2015, standard holders must prove that 50 percent of their wild-capture fisheries raw materials needed to be from certified sources. This was at a time when aquaculture certification was still in its infancy, allowing us to learn and grow with aquafeed producers collaboratively and incrementally. Additionally, in 2022, BAP added a requirement that 50 percent of all soy and 100 percent of palm oil products needed to be from certified sources.
And it continues to evolve. The responsible, traceable use of byproducts has been heavily investigated, allowing BAP to encourage the use of byproducts from primary processing facilities meeting these requirements. We have designed approvals for marine ingredients working towards certified practices, allowing products from approved Fishery Improvement Projects (FIPs). Just this year, BAP and the aquafeed industry moved to increase the approved fisheries products requirement to 75 percent, demonstrating the impact of gradual change in the certification process.
However, as these new assurances are implemented, new issues arise. In the ongoing effort to improve the sustainability profile of aquaculture in the marketplace, feed ingredients – specifically soy and fish oil – have placed tremendous strain on the supply chain’s carbon footprint. In 2025, the soy requirements are being adjusted once again to require all certified feed mills to commit to zero deforestation and conversion and provide a written plan with achievable timelines to accomplish this – a massive undertaking for the aquaculture supply chain. The ever-growing understanding that climate-smart aquafeed will be the backbone of climate-smart aquaculture has begun to guide much of our future Feed Mill Standard development, with even greater goals and expectations placed on feed producers.
As we look towards developing the next iteration of the BAP Feed Mill Standard, these upcoming criteria will represent a significant component of GSA’s climate adaption and mitigation strategy moving forward. In addition to the core requirements on food safety, social responsibility and environmental responsibility, we will begin to explore how certified facilities – and every pellet of production from those facilities – can better demonstrate climate-smart sourcing and production practices.
GSA’s continuous improvement philosophy is built on a foundation of monitoring evolving best practices and constant stakeholder engagement. It is through this combination that responsible feed has emerged as a central focus in the sustainability community. With the recognition that the continual improvement of soy and marine ingredients sources is needed, the availability and pathways to improvement appear increasingly challenging.
Aquaculture is heavily supported by a foundation of sustainability, with expectations for responsible production becoming the norm. It is our responsibility as standard owners to demonstrate where the industry should be moving and guide it along the most responsible path forward to achieve these objectives, assuring growth and opportunity for all links in the supply chain.
The current and future expectations of ingredient sourcing for aquafeeds will place tremendous strain on producers across the globe in variable ways. While some regions may develop clearer pathways, others may be at risk of falling behind. This is where GSA’s focus on measured, inclusive progress becomes even more imperative.
As we continue to engage with farmers, feed mills, hatcheries and processors of all shapes and sizes, we encourage members of the global feed community to engage with aquaculture, understand our priorities, and ultimately join GSA in a journey towards providing more responsible seafood for generations to come.
