Pacific Seafood First Company to Offer Four-Star BAP Oysters
On January 16, 2018, in Portsmouth, NH, Pacific Seafood, one of the largest seafood companies in North America, became the first and only company in the world to offer four-star Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) oysters. The four-star rating is the highest in the BAP third-party certification program, indicating that the product comes from a BAP-certified processing plant and farm, and uses seed and feed from BAP-certified hatcheries and feed mills. Oysters naturally feed on phytoplankton in seawater and do not require feed from a mill. However, due to BAP's stringent standards for mollusk farming, which include responsible stocking rates and monitoring of natural feeding processes, Pacific Seafood has been allowed to offer four-star BAP oysters instead of just three-star ones. Chris Jones, hatchery operations manager for Pacific Seafood, stated that the company is committed to providing the healthiest protein on the planet, and having BAP's third-party validation of their entire supply chain for oysters is crucial. The company is proud to offer oysters that meet the highest standards of respect for the environment, workers, community, animal welfare, and food safety. Pacific Seafood's BAP-certified oyster processing plant and farm are located in South Bend, Wash., and the BAP-certified oyster hatchery is in Quilcene, Wash. This is the first step towards the company's goal of having all Pacific Seafood oysters achieve four-star status. This year, the company will focus on certifying more facilities and introducing new four-star oyster products to the market. Pacific Seafood also operates a BAP-certified steelhead farm in Nespelem, Wash. BAP mollusk farm standards require farms to manage stocking rates to avoid exceeding the environment’s production carrying capacity. They also require farms to monitor neighboring benthic communities to ensure that the mollusks' consumption of naturally occurring organisms does not negatively impact the sediment. Farms must also carefully monitor the surrounding environment to ensure it remains free of potential contaminants that may pose human food-safety risks. The BAP program has seen significant growth, with the number of BAP-certified facilities reaching 1,864 in the first 11 months of 2017, a nearly 20 percent increase from the end of 2016. This total includes 37 mollusk farms producing over 56,000 metric tons of product per year. The introduction of the BAP mollusk farm standards in May 2016 allowed oyster facilities to pursue BAP certification. BAP is a division of the Global Aquaculture Alliance and is an international certification program based on achievable, science-based, and continuously improved performance standards for the entire aquaculture supply chain. BAP certification is based on independent audits that evaluate compliance with the BAP standards developed by the Global Aquaculture Alliance. Pacific Seafood Group, founded in 1941 by the Dulcich Family, remains a family-owned and operated company dedicated to providing the healthiest protein on the planet. The company manages all parts of the supply chain from harvesting/fishing to processing, and distribution to provide customers with fresh, sustainable, high-quality products. Pacific Seafood Group is headquartered in Clackamas, Ore. It employs over 3,000 team members across 41 facilities in 11 states.
