JEDDAH — The National Aquaculture Group (NAQUA) started the 2015 with a distinctive achievement emphasizing the name of the group among the aquaculture industry in the world after receiving the Best Aquaculture Practices Certification (BAP) from the Global Aquaculture Alliance. Established in 1997 & based in the US, Global Aquaculture Alliance is an international association concerned in developing and identifying the responsible aquaculture systems around the world. Attaining BAP Certification has contributed in classifying the Group in first place worldwide with three-star level for the best practices in barramundi culture. While it also attained first place in the Middle East & North Africa with four-star level in shrimp culture, which allowed the group to be among the only top 15 companies worldwide with 4-star level of BAP certification for shrimp. The BAP Certification includes the processing plants, marine fish cage culture, shrimp hatcheries and farms, and feed mill which makes NAQUA to be the only group in the world that provides barramundi fish and shrimps with such classifications for the local and international markets. Engineer Ahmed R. AlBallaa, Managing Director of the National Aquaculture Group, said: "We have attained this achievement by the blessing of Allah, the support of the Ministry of Agriculture and the government of Saudi Arabia which paved the way to accomplish this achievement. The strategic location of our coastal aquaculture farms and the clean water of the Red Sea helped us in this success.” Besides, “(we have) over 30 years of experience in managing one of the largest aquaculture projects in the world, through which we firmly established our journey and attained our excellence and prosperity in the National Aquaculture Group and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This will add the name of our nation among the list of the leading countries that follow the best aquaculture practices & environmental protection.” Moreover, Eng. AlBallaa said: "Today we stand on a new horizon after receiving this global recognition with the BAP Certification. This assures us that our steady efforts were correct and still moving forward in the right path. We are proud to contribute to the food security for our citizens by distributing our products in broader bands in the local market, and by exploring new international markets. We are serving our customers with guaranteed quality seafood products that have become internationally recognized." Nasir Hameed, Director, Corporate Quality & Sustainability, added: "At National Aquaculture Group, we pursue a strong approach on high quality & food safety, environment and organization sustainability. NAQUA's BAP certification is a proof of company's compliance towards all global regulatory and industrial norms for a sustainable aquaculture system. NAQUA is committed to produce the best possible quality of Aquaculture products for our customers and consumers and BAP certification is a big step to fulfill our promise” The National Aquaculture Group is one of the largest integrated desert coastal companies in global marine aquaculture systems, with over 2,500 employees in the group with an expected production capacity of 35,000 MT of shrimp and 100,000 MT of fish for our customers all over the world. In addition to fish and shrimp, the company produces sea cucumber, algae and artemia products. NAQUA uses the Red Sea water in producing and enhancing the flavor of the shrimps and fish with total consideration to protecting and improving the environment. NAQUA is a founding member of the Global Aquaculture Alliance and is fully committed to the highest standards for best aquaculture practices. NAQUA is considered a model for local & global aquaculture systems. BAP Certification is an addition to NAQUA's existing international certification and recognitions, such as BRC, 22000:2005 ISO 9001:2008, ISO 14001:2005 and HACCP certified since 2003. — SG
