Global Aquaculture Alliance’s Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) mollusc farm standards have been released for a 60-day public comment period from December 7 2015.

The new standards will cover all major farmed mollusc species, including mussels, scallops, oysters, clams and abalone, and will replace the existing BAP mussel farm standards.

The standards were prepared by the BAP mollusc technical committee, which is chaired by Brian Kingzett. Committee members, who represent the global scope of mollusc farming both in terms of geography and species, met on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada, in October and in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, in July.

The BAP Standards Oversight Committee — whose members represent a balance of stakeholders from industry, NGOs and academia — recommended refinements to the standards before approving them for release.

All comments received during the public comment period are carefully considered for inclusion in the final documents. All properly submitted comments are acknowledged.

“All stakeholders are encouraged to participate in this public comment exercise so that the finished standards can benefit from the most broad-based input possible,” said BAP Standards Coordinator Dan Lee.

To submit a comment, click here.