Saving Seafood

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.

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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.”

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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.

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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.

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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.”

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

July 27, 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

China reprocessing, selling Russian-origin seafood to US despite import ban

July 5, 2023 — China has experienced a surge in Russian seafood entering the country recently, and is reprocessing and selling much of it to markets that have banned Russian seafood imports, including the U.S.

Bilateral seafood trade between the China and Russia rose 80 percent in the first quarter of 2023, according to Robin Wang, head of seafood marketing agency SMH International in Shanghai. Overall, Sino-Russian trade rose 38.7 percent year-over-year in Q1.

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US CBP to redistribute USD 2.6 million in seafood-related antidumping duties

June 13, 2023 — U.S. Customs and Border Protection plans to redistribute USD 2,598,890 (EUR 2,417,871) collected from antidumping and countervailing duties on imported seafood products to domestic producers in the 2023 fiscal year.

The vast majority of the collected funds came from crawfish tail meat imported from China, which accounted for USD 2.3 million (EUR 2.1 million). Vietnamese frozen fish fillets were the other major contributor, accounting for USD 302,754 (EUR 281,676). CBP also collected a total of USD 3,270 (EUR 3,042) for frozen warmwater shrimp and prawns imported from Ecuador, Brazil, India, and Thailand.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource