The Best Aquaculture Practices certification program has expanded its international marketing team with the addition of Roy Palmer as BAP's new business development manager for Australasia. Palmer will help manage relationships with seafood suppliers, buyers, retailers and foodservice outlets on the Australian continent for BAP.
 
BAP Vice President of Development Peter Redmond said Palmer's appointment demonstrates ongoing commitment to assist companies in the marketplace, as well as a commitment to advance the principles of BAP within the overall seafood community.
 
"This is a very committed decision by the Global Aquaculture Alliance, the organization that develops the BAP standards," Redmond said. "As more and more retailers in different areas of the globe start requiring responsibly produced aquaculture, they are recognizing that the BAP program offers the most thorough and comprehensive program.
 
"The Australian and New Zealand retail and foodservice operators are also realizing the important role they play in this global industry. Roy Palmer's appointment will be pivotal in helping drive the initiative forward in these markets. We are extremely fortunate to have found someone as talented and well respected as Roy to execute this role."
 
Palmer is a seafood professional who has been involved in all facets of the post-harvest industry since the early 1970s. He has operated import-export-trading businesses and for 13 years ran a successful chain of seafood retail establishments in Melbourne, Australia. He is a qualified seafood trainer and one of only a few people in Australia to possess a Diploma in Seafood Processing.
 
Additionally, Palmer has represented the Australian seafood industry in areas that include SeaQual, Seafood Services Australia, Seafood Experience Australia, Seafood Training Australia, Agri-Food Skills Australia and the Australian Fish Names Committee. The names committee has been a boon to consumer confidence, marketing and traceability.
 
Palmer is a past president of the Asia-Pacific Chapter of the World Aquaculture Society and is currently involved in Aquaculture Without Frontiers and the Global Initiative for Life & Leadership Through Seafood.