The new Aquaculture Standard Version 5 from GLOBALGAP, provides a complete solution for buyers and suppliers, and covers the key sustainability aspects that animal production for human consumption is required to achieve. Food safety, environment, workers’ welfare and animal welfare are all included.

The document covers full production chain verification of:

• Broodstock
• Seedlings
• Feed
• Farming
• Post harvest activities to consumer sale

To achieve and be able to claim GLOBALGAP certified status of the final product, it is mandatory that all the stages of production are verified and assessed as compliant.

Some of the changes and new elements in the Aquaculture Standard Version 5 include:

1. The order of the criteria has been rearranged to support a more fluid auditing process. This makes it a friendlier document for farmers and inspectors to use.
2. Improved language to ensure clear and consistent interpretation.
3. The requirements include a clarification to support in detail the evidence required to comply with the control points, based on feedback from the field during the 4-year revision process.
4. Addition of a mandatory Risk Assessment on Social Practices.
5. Addition of detailed criteria relating to animal welfare that are specific to aquaculture activities.
6. Animal welfare criteria include cohabitant species, i.e. cleaner fish (as a solution to reduce animal treatments).
7. A tool to demonstrate the sustainability status of feed used: Responsible Operations criteria as a voluntary add-on for the mandatory compliance of the compound feed used.
8. A label on the final packaging to communicate with consumers is now available. GLOBALG.A.P. compliance is linked to the Friend of the Sea logo.

This 4-year revision process includes all feedback received from users, plus 2 public consultation periods, which includes the participation of retailers, suppliers, animal health industry, farm assurers, certification bodies and NGO sectors. The number of criteria to be verified in the new version has fallen by 3 percent.

As of 30 June 2015: 35 countries have adopted GLOBALGAP Aquaculture Certification, covering 30 species from the finfish, crustaceans and molluscs groups.

To view the transition document from Aquaculture module version 4 to version 5 click here.