A mussel processing plant in Newfoundland, Canada has earned the Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA)'s Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) certification, marking the first mussel processor to do so, according to the GAA.
Norlantic Processors, of Pleasantview, on Notre Dame Bay, received the certification in late November 2013. The company also operates three mussel farming sites totaling 728 hectares, and is seeking BAP certification for those farms as well.
"To be the first in any achievement feels very rewarding. Earning BAP certification is a benchmark for the company's processing plant," said Terry Mills, president of Norlantic Processors.
The company processes about 1 million pounds of blue mussels per year, marketed to retail and foodservice customers in North American under the NPL brand.
Mussel processing plants became eligible for BAP certification with the completion of the BAP mussel farm standards in August. In October, Atlantic Aqua Farms Partnership in Prince Edward Island, Canada, became the first mussel farm to get certified.
