October 30, 2013

Mainstream Canada and Skuna Bay Vancouver Island Craft Raised Salmon were allowed by EWOS Canada Ltd.'s Surrey feed mill, who has obtained Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) certification, to offer three-star salmon.

This was announced by the Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA) in late October.

EWOS Canada is the exclusive provider of feed to both Mainstream Canada and Skuna Bay Salmon.

With the certification of EWOS Canada's Surrey feed mill, Skuna Bay Salmon can now claim that every single fish it offers is from a BAP-certified facility.

Walcan Seafood, the exclusive processor of Skuna Bay Vancouver Island Craft Raised Salmon, earned BAP certification for its Quadra Island, British Columbia, processing plant in July, joining Skuna Bay Salmon's BAP-certified farms, which are owned and operated by Grieg Seafood BC Ltd. Skuna Bay has 11 BAP-certified farms, the first four of which attained BAP certification in December 2011.

"Our craftsman farmers have been tending our farms using Best Aquaculture Practices' high standards since 2011 when our first sea farm sites were certified," said Dave Mergle, director of Skuna Bay Salmon." It's very gratifying to have our important partners at EWOS Canada join with our processor Walcan Seafood as BAP-certified partners."

"Our harvesting farms and Tofino processing plant are already BAP-certified. Now that the feed we use is also certified, our salmon in the market will be three-star certified as well," said Fernando Villarroel, managing director of Mainstream Canada.

Mainstream Canada was British Columbia's first salmon supplier to offer two-star salmon in December 2012, with the certification of its Pacific National processing plant in Tofino, British Columbia. Mainstream Canada's Brent Island farm in British Columbia was the world's first salmon farm to receive BAP certification in December 2011. Mainstream Canada is owned by Cermaq ASA.

Best Aquaculture Practices is an international certification programme 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.