Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) has welcomed the first facility in Greece to engage in the BAP third-party certification program.

IRIDA S.A., a fish feed manufacturer located in Evia, Greece, is currently participating in the iBAP program and is expected to transition to BAP certification soon. The company produces 48,000 metric tons of feed annually for sea bream, sea bass, meagre and trout, supplying high-quality feed to aquaculture producers worldwide.

Launched in early 2015, the iBAP program is designed to provide technical assistance and encouragement to aquaculture facilities interested in pursuing responsible aquaculture practices. Facilities that enroll in iBAP agree to a step-by-step, deadline-driven improvement plan. iBAP incentivizes facilities to make the improvements necessary to apply for BAP certification.

“The level of compliance of responsible manufacturing practices that IRIDA applied into its feed production is impressive. IRIDA’s good performance in our iBAP improvement program is allowing the company to transition to third-party certification earlier than expected,” said Marco Moya, manager of BAP supply development, who oversees iBAP.

The BAP program is beginning to make inroads into Mediterranean aquaculture. In addition to IRIDA’s feed mill, a sea bream hatchery in Cyprus is currently enrolled in iBAP.

Currently, dozens of farms, processing plants, hatcheries and feed mills from 12 countries worldwide are enrolled in iBAP. They represent six species (shrimp, crawfish, tilapia, rainbow trout, striped bass, and sea bass) as well as aquaculture feed. So far, more than 80 facilities have graduated from iBAP and transitioned to BAP certification.