GAA shifts focus to mussels
(IntraFish) The Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA) Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) program is shifting its focus to mussels after developing certification standards for facilities that raise shrimp, salmon, tilapia, pangasius and channel catfish, according to a GAA report.
The Mussel Farm Technical Committee finalized its committee-level draft standards, which were sent to the BAP standards Oversight Committee for review. Once the initial draft receives input from members, the draft may return to the farm committee for final adjustments and secondary approval.
Mussel culture is considered to have limited environmental effects but the draft BAP standards indicate mussel cultivation sites must analyze local conditions to identify potentially sensitive or important habitats. Mussel farmers will have to operate with minimal impacts on sediment quality and benthic organisms.
Certified mussel farms will have to document regulatory compliance and responsibility toward workers and local communities. In addition, the farms must control any mussel diseases or parasites that appear during production.