Saving Seafood

Chinese authorities castigate Outlaw Ocean report, as US lawyers advise importers to scrutinize Chinese products

November 2, 2023 — China is requiring its entire distant-water fleet to implement electronic monitoring on its ships from 2024 onward, according to a new government whitepaper that comes soon after the release of a bombshell Outlaw Ocean report focusing on alleged worker abuses that occurred on some of the nation’s distant-water trawlers.

The report links specific Chinese processing companies to state-run labor programs that have subjected the Uyghur ethnic minority group to what the U.S. government has labeled as illegal forced labor.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

The US is buying up the Japanese seafood exports that China banned—but for how long?

October 31, 2023 — The US military is helping Tokyo curb the economic fallout from China’s ban on seafood products from Japan.

Right after Japan started releasing treated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear plant in late August, China halted seafood exports from the country. It cited food safety fears from damage to the environment and marine life—a concern dismissed by regulators after thorough investigation. (Never mind that Chinese vessels kept fishing in the same waters.)

The US military stationed in Japan has started bulk-buying Japanese seafood to feed soldiers in messes and aboard vessels, and to sell in shops and restaurants on bases, Rahm Emanuel, US ambassador to the country, told Reuters in an interview yesterday (Oct. 30). It’s the first time the US armed forces have bought Japanese fish.

A “long-term contract” has been established between the US military and fisheries and co-ops in Japan, Emanuel said. Washington’s strategy to “wear out China’s economic coercion is [to] come to the aid and assistance of the targeted country or industry,” he added, harking back to his September speech in which he called economic coercion “the most persistent and pernicious tool” in China’s economic toolbox.

This may be a clever diplomatic move, but it’s unclear how sustainable it is. The total release of all the wastewater from Fukushima could take up to 40 years. Would China really keep a ban in place for four decades? And would the US keep coming to Japan’s aid for all that time?

Read the full article at Quartz

 

American Shrimp Processors Association push for duties on imported shrimp from four countries

October 26, 2023 — The American Shrimp Processors Association (ASPA), an organization representing the interests of U.S. wild-caught warmwater shrimp processing, has filed trade petitions seeking additional antidumping and countervailing duties on imported shrimp.

The trade petitions, which the ASPA said are intended to address unfair dumping and illegal subsidies, consist of a request for antidumping duties on imported frozen warmwater shrimp from Ecuador and Indonesia, and countervailing duties on imported shrimp from Ecuador, India, Indonesia, and Vietnam.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Social audits for MSC, ASC, BRC certification likely missed evidence of Uyghur forced labor

October 16, 2023 — A weak social auditing process, including heavy reliance on self-assessments, allowed the presence of Uyghurs in Chinese seafood processing facilities to go undetected by seafood certification nonprofits including the Marine Stewardship Council, the Aquaculture Stewardship Council, and the British Retail Consortium, according to a report from The Outlaw Ocean Project.

The independent journalism group published a report in The New Yorker on 9 October outlining its investigation into the use of state-sponsored forced labor, as defined by the U.S. Uyghur Forced Labor Protection Act of 2021, in 11 Chinese seafood processing plants, most of which carried the joint MSC/ASC chain of custody certification.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Lund’s Fisheries, PAFCO cease business with Chinese processors named in Outlaw Ocean report

October 15, 2023 — Cape May, New Jersey, U.S.A.-based Lund’s Fisheries has ceased its business relationship with a Chinese supplier in the wake of a report by the Outlaw Ocean Project on the use of Uyghur laborers at seafood companies in China.

Lund’s Fisheries, in a statement released on 13 October, said that upon hearing questions and criticisms about Rongcheng Haibo – one of several Chinese companies named by the Outlaw Ocean Project in its report – it initiated an internal investigation and “resolved not to renew existing contracts with Rongcheng Haibo until that work was complete.” Now, although the company said it did not find any evidence of illegal activity or forced labor at Rongcheng Haibo, the company will continue to maintain the cessation of new business “pending further investigation.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

China responds to IUU claims by taking diplomats on tour of fishery facilities

September 28, 2023 — Soon after NOAA released a report identifying China as one of several nations it alleges have habitually engaged in illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, Chinese officials pushed back on such claims by bringing Beijing-based diplomats on a guided tour of fishery facilities in the southeastern province of Fujian.

In combination with the report, NOAA handed China – alongside Mexico and Russia – a negative certification for failing to properly combat IUU fishing activities. The certification could lead to import bans, as well as the U.S. denying the countries’ vessels access to American ports.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

NOAA report accuses nine nations, including China and Taiwan, of supporting illegal fishing

September 5, 2023 — The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has released a report identifying several nations it alleges are engaged in illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing or that have not done enough to eliminate the use of forced labor within their domestic fleets.

Angola, Grenada, Mexico, China, Taiwan, The Gambia, and Vanuatu were all alleged to have participated in IUU fishing in 2020, 2021 and 2022, according to the report. Mexico, China, and Russia were given negative certifications for failing to remedy IUU fishing activities, which could lead to the U.S. denying those nations’ access to American ports and waters or import bans.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Rabobank: Shrimp industry flailing as global demand softens

August 7, 2023 — Falling prices and demand coupled with rising feed and production costs have left global shrimp producers in dire straits, according to new analysis published by the global animal protein sector of Utrecht, Netherlands-based .

Written by Rabobank Senior Global Specialist of Seafood Gorjan Nikolik, the report, “Global Aquaculture Update 2H 2023: Between a Rock and a Hard Place,” found the shrimp industry faced an extremely challenging first six months of 2023, with prices continuing to fall due to soft demand from Western markets in tandem with high supply from leading producers like Ecuador.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Alaska pollock sector welcomes MSC eco-label push from McDonald’s China

July 30, 2023 — McDonald’s China recently announced that it will now include the blue Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) eco-label on its Filet-o-Fish sandwiches, Double Fish burgers, and Kids Fish Fillet burgers, served in more than 5,000 restaurants nationwide.

The initiative, according to Gu Lei, chief impact officer of McDonald’s China, “will continue to help protect the vitality of the ocean.” Gu described McDonald’s China as “actively building a sustainable supply chain to reduce damage to the environment through its seafood procurement.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource