Northern Harvest First BAP North American Three-Star Salmon Operation

To achieve the three-star status, Northern Harvest partnered with Skretting Canada, whose two feed mills in St. Andrews, New Brunswick, and Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, were recently certified to the BAP standards.

For its farm star, Northern Harvest has seven BAP-certified farm sites in eastern Canada. Their harvests of fish are processed by Northern Harvest Sea Farms' certified plant in New Brunswick, which comprises the third star in the BAP retail mark that will appear on Northern Harvest products.

"Northern Harvest is moving ahead as a leader in salmon certification," Best Aquaculture Practices Vice President of Development Peter Redmond said.

"From plant to farms and now feed, the company is working hard to operate in a responsible way. We look forward to more and more facilities -- both in North America and elsewhere -- following their path."

After BAP certifications of its farms and plant earlier this year, Northern Harvest Sea Farms continues to expand its facilities and production while reducing environmental and social impacts.

"We are very delighted to be the leaders in sustainability and have demonstrated our commitment to the future with a goal of full certification from egg to plate, including our new state-of-the-art land-based hatchery in Stephenville, Newfoundland," Larry Ingalls, president and CEO of Northern Harvest Sea Farms, said.

The Skretting feed mills were certified on Oct. 22 as part of the company's Sustainable Economic Aquafeeds program, which seeks to consider long-term environmental considerations while making it possible for farmers to operate profitable businesses.

"Sustainable practices are very important to us, our customers and those who eat the seafood we produce," Skretting North America General Manager Chris Beattie, said.

"In the past two years, we have introduced sustainable raw material sourcing policies, a global carbon dioxide reduction target and ongoing R & D addressing areas of sustainability such as how to further reduce our use of fish oil. BAP certification is further recognition of our commitment to sustainability."

BAP certification is based on the international Best Aquaculture Practices standards developed by the Global Aquaculture Alliance, the leading standards-setting organization for aquaculture seafood.

For salmon and other major farmed species, BAP requires effective management of animal health, feed inputs, water quality and food safety. In a process that includes site inspections and in-depth audits, social responsibility and traceability are additional requirements.