FEDEACUA, the Colombian federation of aquaculture, has asked that Reservoir Betania tilapia farmers undergo the pilot and implement the draft standards.
The standard lays out how farmers and other entities within a defined productive aquaculture area can best work together to prevent or mitigate threats from disease. Click here to read the draft standard.
Reservoir Betania is located in Huila province in southwest Colombia.
Some 74 square kilometers in size, 72 farmers grow some 22,000 metric tons of tilapia in its waters, with export sales to the United States and Canada and developing sales to Europe.
“We are excited to undergo the pilot. Reservoir Betania has a unique ecosystem, and given that our farmers are investing in improvement and BAP certification, the BAP Biosecurity Area Management Standards are a logical next step to ensure the industry continues to flourish for the long term,” said Sara Patricia Bonilla, executive director of FEDEACUA.
“We don’t under estimate the challenge by any means,” said Marcos Moya, manager of BAP supply development. “Successfully engaging more than 70 farmers to such an advanced standard is going to be tough, but FEDEACUA has excellent management systems in place, and many of the fundamental infrastructure requirements have already been put in place.”
The public comment period for the draft Biosecurity Area Management standard closed on 12 February.
Piloting the standard is the next step to give the necessary valuable feedback from actually implementing it on the ground. Further pilots are expected to be launched across different species and regions.
Interested parties are welcomed to contact GAA Development Director Iain Shone at iain.shone@gaalliance.org.
