Oshēn Salmon and other reputable seafood companies bear the prestigious BAP certification (Best Aquaculture Practices) from the Global Aquaculture Alliance. But, what does this mean and why does it matter to you, the consumer? Well, BAP certified producers like us utilize this third party certification to ensure our salmon is the most sustainable and safe in the market.
Sustainable seafood is a relatively new concept, and many seafood producers are still using their unethical and environmentally detrimental process to make the biggest profit on their fish. Not us. BAP certification holders must maintain the GSA’s four pillars of sustainability. These include environmental, social, animal welfare, and food safety awareness.
If you’re interested in living sustainably and the safety of you, our environment, and our communities is a priority, conscious seafood is a great next step. You can have confidence you’re making the right choice for our fragile ecosystem, for your health, and for the future of the planet when you see that BAP label. So, today, we’re showcasing the values and process of BAP certified seafood producers like us here at Oshēn Salmon.
Best Aquaculture Practices
First off, what is aquaculture? Aquaculture refers to the action of raising seafood in some type of controlled environment (rather than traditional fishing.) There are many myths floating around the internet about the ethics behind farmed fish. But, the truth is, aquaculture is necessary to keep up with the world’s demand for seafood and to protect our aquatic ecosystems from overfishing.
The supply chain is only one factor of aquaculture’s part in our evolving world. Seafood is also one of the most eco-friendly proteins, with seafood production causing very little damage to our earth when compared to that of livestock and other agriculture processing. This truth combined with the high-standard of the BAP certification. means our seafood processing holds up to even meticulous scrutiny.
The Best Aquaculture Practice certification reviews every step of the seafood production process. They investigate the hatchery, farm, feed mill, and seafood processing plant and ensure all of them uphold their strict code of ethics. This way, you can have assurance that fish farms like ours are environmentally and socially conscious every step of the way.
So, what do these pillars really represent? Let’s go over the four pillars of BAP certifications and what they involve!
Environmentally Responsible
We’ve already discussed how seafood itself is more sustainable than other proteins, but how else are fish farms working to be environmentally responsible? BAP certified producers are high-efficiency farms, using modern tech and fewer resources to produce their delicious and healthy fish.
Technology helps us be certain of our salmon’s wellbeing and the quality of the fish we produce. Additionally, our ocean farms not only abide by the BAP’s basic criteria for low-resource sustainable fish farms, but we exceed it! That’s because our ocean farms utilize the natural ocean resources that raise and produce fish in their natural habitat with real ocean currents and wildlife!
This means we don’t need much equipment to raise our fish - the ocean does all the work! We protect the fish while the ocean raises them. We call this “ocean-raised and ocean-loved.” You won’t find a better way to source environmentally conscious fish!
Socially Accountable
Trafficked labor is one of the biggest problems that the seafood industry faces today. If a certification simply looks at one part of the production cycle, they may never see that an otherwise reputable seafood company sources their fish from overseas producers that do not treat their fish or employees humanely.
Since BAP looks at every step of the process, they’ll investigate the work environment and well-being of the employees. Oshēn Salmon works with every community that’s impacted by our salmon production and treats every employee like family. We know that a happy team makes for an even higher quality fish with an even bigger impact.
Committed to Food Safety
You’re probably aware that seafood has a higher risk of harboring dangerous bacteria. These bacteria usually occur due to poor handling, and it can cause severe food-borne illnesses!
Furthermore, mercury poisoning and plastic pollution can infect fish in contaminated waterways. This is mostly in wild fisheries, though. Farmed salmon, on the other hand, doesn’t have this poisoning risk. The farming process only has a minor concern of sea lice and bacteria when pens are not properly maintained and get overcrowded - which we take serious caution to avoid.
With seafood like ours that’s tagged with the BAP certification, you don’t have to worry about any of this. Oshēn Salmon and other BAP certified seafood producers hold themselves to a high-standard of quality. We have comprehensive safety protocols, strict pen requirements, and avoid all products and procedures that might hinder the quality of our fish. You’re guaranteed a fresh and safe product by our Better Aquaculture Practices label.
Animal Welfare Advocates
Finally, BAP certification holders care about the welfare of the fish we farm. The Global Seafood Alliance requires its companies to reduce stress on the fish during transport or other difficult maneuvers. It also asserts that the harvest and slaughter must be humane, causing as little pain to the fish as possible.
Here at Oshēn Salmon, we take this care with every step of the process [Link Sustainable Salmon Delivery article when live]. Why wouldn’t we? Not only is it great for our environment, but healthier and happier fish live longer! So, in the end, we get a higher yield of healthy salmon. This is good for you, good for us, and good for our fish.
The Best Aquaculture Practice (BAP) certification means you can have confidence your seafood is environmentally, socially, safety, and animal welfare conscious.
At Oshēn Salmon, we strive to be the best at what we do. We hold not only the illustrious BAP label but also Aquaculture Stewardship Council and British Retail Consortium certifications. Furthermore, we ship direct-to-consumer to maintain freshness and quality. Our salmon packages are truly the healthiest, safest, and most sustainable salmon products out there.
Ready to take the leap toward sustainable salmon? Check out our fresh or frozen salmon packages and use code FRESH for 15% off your first order!