Arctic char and crawfish processors snag BAP certification

For the first time, both Arctic char and crawfish processors have achieved Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) certification.

Islandsbleikja in Grindavík, Iceland, is the first processing plant in the country to attain the Global Aquaculture Alliance’s BAP certification. Plus, the approval is a first for Arctic char.

“We are proud to be Iceland’s first BAP-certified processing plant. Arctic char is a unique product, and to have BAP certification helps us fulfill the needs of environmentally-conscious consumers and ultimately helps us grow our business,” said Jón Kjartan Jónsson, managing director of Íslandsbleikja.

Íslandsbleikja’s plant processes 2,000 metric tons of Arctic char annually, supplied by two land-based farms and three hatcheries throughout Iceland. Owned by Samherji hf., a leading Iceland-based seafood company, with operations throughout Europe, Africa and North America, Íslandsbleikja markets fresh and frozen Arctic char to retail and foodservice companies across Europe and North America.

Samherji executives are also assessing the possibility of becoming BAP’s first land-based tank aquaculture farm.

In another first, Pizhou City, Jiangsu, China-based Xuzhou Jinjiangfoodstuffs Co.’s processing plant attained BAP certification for crawfish. The plant processes cooked crawfish tail meat and freezes it for export, primarily to the United States. Bernard’s Seafood Co. Ltd. of Mansura, Louisiana, imports the crawfish.

“The GAA is thrilled to partner with Bernard’s Seafood to help bring BAP certification to crawfish and to help the company source farmed seafood responsibly,” said Chris Keller, BAP director of market development in the Americas.