Open letter daylights evidence of environmental damage associated with BAP salmon farms

For immediate release: More than 70 environmental, animal welfare, and community groups from 18 countries have called out the industry trade association, Global Seafood Alliance, for its continued greenwashing of industrial salmon farming with its latest version of the Best Aquaculture Practices certification.

In an open letter, submitted on the final day of the public consultation for BAP Salmon Farm Standard issue 3.0, groups listed damning evidence of numerous BAP certified farms and facilities associated with environmental damage, illegal activity, and/or negative impacts to endangered species. Examples were found in all major salmon farming regions: the U.S., Norway, Chile, Canada, Scotland, and Australia.

Groups criticized the new standard for failing to have limits on critical environmental impacts such as sea lice, disease, chemicals, and water quality. Instead, the standard relies on farms meeting their minimal legal obligations and following business as usual practices.

The open letter follows recent exposés by the Outlaw Ocean Project and Corporate Accountability Lab that uncovered serious allegations of forced labor, child labor, and worker exploitation, as well as environmental damage, associated with BAP-certified facilities in the Indian shrimp supply chain.

“There is mounting evidence that environmental harms and human rights abuses are occurring despite the ‘responsible seafood’ claims of BAP and other certifications. The new BAP Standard is no exception. Farms in Chile’s marine protected areas will be eligible for certification; so will farms in Canada, Scotland and Norway with sea lice loads that are lethal to juvenile wild salmon; as well as Australian farms that are driving the endangered Maugean skate towards extinction,” said Kelly Roebuck, SeaChoice representative from Living Oceans Society.

A significant number of major supermarkets – such as global giants Amazon, Walmart and ALDI; Loblaws and Target in North America; Tesco and Sainburys in the UK; and Woolworths and Coles in Australia – defer to the BAP certification as part of the responsible seafood sourcing policies.

“Major supermarkets must quit relying on these flawed certifications, stop the greenwashing, and do their own environmental and human rights due diligence on their seafood supply chains,” said Dana Cleaveley, SeaChoice Market Analyst.

Note: The absence of other eco-certifications from this news release should not be taken as an endorsement for those schemes.