What does BAP cover?
Best Aquaculture Practices uses facility-specific standards across the aquaculture production chain. Preparation begins with identifying the facility type and applicable standard, rather than applying one checklist to every operation.
Who it is for
Aquaculture facilities selecting standards for farms, hatcheries, feed mills or processing operations.
Key areas to understand
Start with these areas. Identify which requirements apply to your activities and who is responsible for them.
- 1Match the facility to its applicable standard.
- 2Connect environmental, social, health and safety controls to operations.
- 3Maintain traceability and evidence for relevant production activities.
Evidence to prepare
This list is a starting point. Check the standard for all required documents. For each item, record who is responsible, the activity or site it relates to, and a recent example showing how it works.
- Facility scope and applicable standard
- Production and input records
- Environmental and health monitoring
- Worker safety and employment records
- Traceability and corrective-action evidence
Keep records that explain what was checked, which requirement was used and who checked it. Include any action taken when a requirement was not met. Link each record to the work it supports.
An internal audit example
Suggested checks from 4Auditee
For a farm, follow one production batch from stocking to transfer or harvest. Identify the relevant feed, health, environmental and transfer records. For another facility type, adapt the trail to its process and use the corresponding BAP standard.
Choose a sample that suits your activities and risks. If you find a gap, record the requirement, the evidence and what was missing. Check more examples if the first results suggest a wider problem.
A common problem to check
Facility certification and supply-chain claims are not interchangeable. Check the exact claim and contributing certified operations before communicating status.
Prepare for assessment
The assessment type for this guide is aquaculture certification programme. Confirm the requirements, what will be assessed and how the assessment will work with the responsible body or customer. These steps help you prepare. You must also follow the scheme’s official rules.
- Define what is covered. List the products, services, activities and sites. Record the standard edition, additional scheme rules and customer requirements.
- Find what is missing. Compare the requirements with current work. Prioritise gaps by risk. Assign someone responsible and a completion date.
- Keep records of everyday work. Check a sample of actual records and speak with the people involved. Make sure they understand their responsibilities.
- Check the results. Complete internal reviews and audits. Check that corrective actions worked before closing problems.
From one site to many
Make it easy to find who is responsible at each site. Keep company policies separate from records of local work. Link each site’s records to its activities, risks and requirements so you can spot gaps at individual sites.
Sites that share a management system do not automatically qualify for one certificate or assessment. Confirm which sites can be included and how they will be checked with the assessment body.
About this guide and its sources
4Auditee wrote this guide using the public source below. The evidence list, audit example and preparation steps are our suggestions. Read the official standard and scheme rules for the full requirements. This guide does not include the standard’s full text or provide certification.
Best Aquaculture Practices: BAP reference information