WWF tra fish claims just a red herring

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) and Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) last week requested World Wildlife Fund WWF to ask its member European units to re-consider their assessments of made-in-Vietnam tra fish.Those agencies were also asked to correct their assertions in the 2010-2011 Seafood Guides for consumers in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Norway and Denmark.

The red list contains the names of products that conscientious consumers should shun. The fish used to be in the yellow list, in which the WWF recommends consumers purchase yellow-listed items only as alternatives to species on the green list, in which products deemed good for the environment. “These WWF branches are intentionally causing difficulties for Vietnam. Their information is quite groundless and goes against Vietnam’s tra fish farming which is in line with the highest international standards about responsible seafood farming,” said VASEP vice chairman Nguyen Huu Dung.

In 2010’s first 10 months, the country shipped 538,200 tonnes of the fish products, worth $1.15 billion, to 124 countries and territories worldwide, including markets like the European Union, Australia, the US and Japan. Last week, Vietnamese authorities received WWF’s information on its set of criteria about Vietnam’s tra fish. They, however, claimed the set was irrational. Read more...



This blog is written by Martin Little The Aquaculturists, published and supported by the International Aquafeed Magazine from Perendale Publishers.