Professor Dan Benetti leads the UM Experimental Fish Hatchery

Special to UM News

Juvenile cobia swim at the Rosenstiel School’s Experimental Fish Hatchery.

MIAMI, Fla. (January 8, 2016) – The Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science’s Experimental Fish Hatchery has made an international mark as the first educational and research institution in the world to obtain the GLOBALG.A.P. Integrated Farm Assurance for Aquaculture for producing cobia eggs and fingerlings commercially.

GLOBALG.A.P. (G.A.P. stands for Good Agriculture Practice) is a Global Food Safety Initiative-recognized scheme at the farm level. The GLOBALG.A.P. Aquaculture Standard applies to a diversity of fish, crustaceans, and molluscs and extends to all hatchery-based farmed species, as well as to the passive collection of seedlings in the planktonic phase. It covers the entire production chain, from broodstock, seedlings, and feed suppliers to farming, harvesting, and processing.

“As a supplier of cobia eggs to Open Blue Sea Farms in Panama, the GLOBALG.A.P. certification is a key element to have in place to support the growth of their business,” said Daniel Benetti, professor of ecosystems and society and director of the aquaculture program at the Rosenstiel School.

“Their commitment to ensuring their innovative farming system has the highest standards through GLOBALG.A.P. and the research support they have provided to our University to develop our cobia selective breeding program made this a natural next step for us. We expect that having this certification will open other doors for us as we move forward.”

The Experimental Fish Hatchery is located on Virginia Key in Biscayne Bay, approximately one mile southeast of downtown Miami. The hatchery is a state-of-the-art facility with capabilities to hold broodstock and conduct research on larval rearing and nursery of several ecologically and economically important species. It supports an innovative academic and research program centered on advanced science and technology to ensure that seafood production through aquaculture is wholesome, environmentally sustainable, socially responsible, and economically viable.

“This aquaculture certification is an extraordinary achievement for the UM Rosenstiel School’s Experimental Fish Hatchery,” said Rosenstiel School Dean Roni Avissar. “The hatchery supports an innovative academic and research program and offers our students a hands-on learning environment where research-to-business takes place.”

Gainesville, Florida-based Quality Certification Services conducted the certification. GLOBALG.A.P. is the world’s leading farm assurance program, translating consumer requirements into Good Agriculture Practice in a rapidly growing list of countries—currently more than 110 worldwide.