The Kingfish Company, a yellowtail kingfish producer with its Kingfish Zeeland facility based in the Netherlands, has become the first company in Europe to successfully complete a pilot of Global Seafood Alliance’s (GSA) Raised Without Antibiotics Standard. Kingfish Zeeland was also the world’s first recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) to earn Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) certification in 2018.

Part of the BAP Vanguard program, the Raised Without Antibiotics Standard was released in 2021 to provide assurances that program participants have produced farmed seafood without the use of any antibiotics, whether approved for use by regulatory bodies and/or allowed for the species being farmed. To achieve the “Raised Without Antibiotics” claim, producers must prove they have the necessary procedures and practices in place to verify that antibiotics were not used through all phases of the life cycle of the year-class and lots in consideration for claims. Upon passing the audit, producers receive a confirmation letter for the facilities that participated in the program.

Cees-Jan Bastiannsen, head of Quality and Sustainability at Kingfish Zeeland said, “we are on a mission to make the perfect fish; innovating and raising the bar not just at Kingfish Zeeland, but in the seafood industry. That’s why we’re proud to have passed the BAP Vanguard initiative, and thank BAP for partnering with us in the same ambition.”

The BAP Vanguard program was introduced to encourage rapid development of standards to recognize and incentivize promising advances and leading-edge innovations. The program also includes the Enhanced Social Accountability and Employee Health and Safety Audit Standard. Producers who voluntarily elect to participate in the Vanguard program must already have attained BAP certification. Kingfish Zeeland’s hatchery, farm and processing plant in the Netherlands are all currently certified to BAP standards.