SAMAQ is the national aquaculture product certification and labeling scheme, based on responsible aquaculture practices, for the promotion of KSA’s aquaculture products to the local (and regional) markets.
All national aquaculture products should be marketed with a specific label indicating local origin and assuring of freshness and product safety.
Product Certification, by definition, refers to the confirmation of certain attributes of a product in relation to a document with a pre-specified set of rles, guidelines etc, serving as a ‘standard’. Within this concept, the Saudi Aquaculture Society (SAS), under the guidance of the Aquaculture Department of the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture (ADMEWA) of KSA, developed the Code for Responsible Aquaculture Practices and its detailed principles, guidelines and standards.
The Code is primarily based on the internationally acknowledged standards and guidelines required by the GAA/BAP farm certification standards, having selected the ones that are considered to be the most important as regards responsible practices for the sustainable operation and further development of the sector, as well as for assuring highest food-safety of the national aquaculture products. This Code is therefore considered as the ‘standard’ for the audit of the aquaculture companies operating in the KSA, and their certification under the SAMAQ programme.
SAMAQ is a second-party product certification program, whereas compliance to the Codes’ Guidelines and Standards is ensured through external audits performed by trained staff of the Saudi Aquaculture Society.
The successful audit of an aquaculture facility under the standards set in this Code for Responsible Conduct, by SAS’s trained audit staff, provide the facility with a Certificate of Compliance, and entitle it to market its products under the national SAMAQ logo.
