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The Global Aquaculture Alliance’s Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) division is searching for a chairperson to lead the technical committee responsible for developing BAP standards for mollusk farming.

In August, the BAP mussel farm standards were completed, representing a key advancement for the BAP program, as the new standards will be used as a template for broader mollusk farm standards encompassing clams, oysters, scallops, abalone and other mollusk species.

The completion of BAP mollusk farm standards will bring another raft of aquaculture producers within the scope of the BAP program, which is already leading the way for global certification of responsible finfish and crustacean production.

The chair of the BAP mollusk technical committee will assist in the appointment of other committee members to reflect the broad scope of the task both geographically and in terms of the number of species. He or she will then coordinate a review process involving converting the existing BAP mussel farm standards to agreed mollusk farm standards. The new standards will also be reviewed by BAP’s multi-stakeholder Standards Oversight Committee prior to its release for a 60-day public comment period and again before the final version is approved and published. The chair will also process and respond to all input received during public comment.

The need for BAP mollusk farm standards has been demonstrated by multiple enquires from mollusk farmers worldwide who seek to demonstrate compliance with international standards.

The chair will be required to understand the role that aquaculture standards play in promoting responsible and sustainable practices and in communicating the evolving needs of the marketplace. Above all, he or she will value this task as an influential and prestigious role in the aquaculture industry. Payment for services will be by an agreed fee, part of which will be paid on completion of the standards development task. The BAP program will also pay incidental office expenses and cover travel and accommodation expenses linked to attending committee meetings. However, most of the work will involve desk-based reviewing, editing and drafting audit clauses and associated implementation guidelines. BAP Standards Coordinator Daniel Lee will assist in these tasks.

Applicants are asked to submit their CVs via email to Lee at dangaelle@aol.com or by mail to the Global Aquaculture Alliance, 4111 Telegraph Road, Suite 302, St. Louis, MO 63129 USA. Please indicate if the applicant or nominee is still willing to serve as a committee member if they are not selected as the chair. The chair must be approved by the Standards Oversight Committee before he or she is nominated.

About BAP
A division of the Global Aquaculture Alliance, Best Aquaculture Practices is an international certification program based on achievable, science-based and continuously improved performance standards for the entire aquaculture supply chain — farms, hatcheries, processing plants and feed mills — that assure healthful foods produced through environmentally and socially responsible means. BAP certification is based on independent audits that evaluate compliance with the BAP standards developed by the Global Aquaculture Alliance. For more information on BAP, visit www.gaalliance.org/bap.