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Shrimp expo in Vietnam postponed for a second time

April 13, 2020 — Organizers of a government-sponsored shrimp exhibition in Vietnam have decided to reschedule the event for a second time over fears of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Vietshrimp Aquaculture International Fair 2020, sponsored by Vietnam’s General Department of Fisheries and the Can Tho City government, will now take place from 7 to 9 October in Can Tho, in the Mekong Delta area.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Vietnam Seafood Enterprises Propose Financial Solutions During Pandemic

March 24, 2020 — Domestic seafood enterprises have proposed many financial solutions to help them overcome difficulties in production and business during the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, according to the Vietnam Association of Fisheries (VASEP).

They have a large inventory of seafood products while customers have delayed payment for many of their export batches. Meanwhile, the export value has also decreased significantly. Those have had a great impact on payment for their loans in March, April and May, VASEP said.

Read the full story at Seafood News

Coronavirus outbreak to hit Vietnam’s pangasius, shrimp exports in short-term

February 5, 2020 — The spread of the deadly coronavirus is drawing concern from fisheries authorities and seafood exporters in Vietnam as it begins to cause delays in the country’s trading with China.

However, Vietnamese seafood companies and executives interviewed by SeafoodSource said they are still projecting the impact of the outbreak will not hinder trade for long.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

EJF study finds child labor, illegal fishing issues within Vietnamese fleet

November 20, 2019 — A new report by the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) details of illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing practices and child labor – from children as young as 11 – in distant water fishing vessels.

The report, titled “Caught in the net,” surveyed 239 crew from 41 Vietnamese fishing vessels that had been detained while fishing illegally in Thai waters. According to the report, which has been picked up by some international media, fishermen from Vietnam have been forced to travel outside their own waters due to the lack of any resources in their own country.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

FDA Investigation of Scombrotoxin Fish Poisoning Linked to Yellowfin/Ahi Tuna/gassed tuna

November 20, 2019 — The following was released by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration:

FDA and state health authorities are investigating incidents of scombrotoxin fish poisoning linked to yellowfin tuna, also sometimes called ahi tuna. As a result of this investigation, FDA has placed Truong Phu Xanh Co, LTD of Vietnam on Import Alert, which provides information to FDA field staff that they may detain the firm’s yellowfin tuna without physical examination. Detained product will not enter the United States unless the importer proves that it meets U.S. food safety standards.

FDA asked for the supplier of yellowfin tuna associated with most of the illnesses, Truong Phu Xanh Co., LTD of Vietnam, to initiate a voluntary recall of all of its imported yellowfin tuna with production dates from January 2019 to the present. At this time, the firm has not recalled any product.

As part of the investigation, FDA evaluated the firm’s Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) Plans. A HACCP Plan details a firm’s management system to address food safety through the analysis and control of biological, chemical, and physical hazards. Since FDA’s evaluation of this plan identified deficiencies, we asked for Truong Phu Xanh Co., LTD of Vietnam to initiate a voluntary recall of all of its imported yellowfin tuna with production dates from January 2019 to the present.
 
The investigation has identified 47 illnesses of scombrotoxin fish poisoning that occurred between August 8, 2019 and October 15, 2019.
 
Throughout the investigation, FDA and states have also been collecting product samples for testing. Scombrotoxin fish poisoning occurs when fish begin to spoil, resulting in increased histamine levels. Therefore, product samples cannot be linked to case patient samples through Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) or Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE) analysis like for other foodborne illnesses, e.g., Salmonella or Listeria. Instead, samples are tested for decomposition and/or histamine levels. Multiple samples have been collected and analyzed, with positive results for decomposition or high histamine levels in products imported from Truong Phu Xanh Co., LTD.
 
FDA and state partners collected epidemiologic and traceback information for reported illnesses. As additional epidemiologic and traceback information was collected, FDA and state partners were able to work with companies throughout the supply chain to voluntarily recall implicated product. While recalls were conducted at various points in the supply chain, there may be additional product still on the market that could cause illness.
 
Ultimately, the coordinated investigation was able to identify Truong Phu Xanh Co., LTD as the common supplier of tuna that was likely consumed by most of the ill people.
 
Because scombrotoxin fish poisoning causes temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences this incident did not meet the threshold for the use of FDA’s mandatory recall authority.
 
It has been determined that the source of the tuna for the illnesses announced by Seattle-King County Public Health Department is not related to Truong Phu Xanh Co., LTD.
 
Recommendations
 
Yellowfin tuna from Truong Phu Xanh Co., LTD with a production date in 2019 should not be consumed because it may have the potential to cause scombrotoxin fish poisoning. Tuna from this supplier could have been sold thawed or frozen; and could have been sold as ground tuna meat, poke cubes, steaks, or loins; this product could still be within its shelf life.­­
 
Scombrotoxin fish poisoning occurs when fish is not properly chilled or preserved and begins to spoil, resulting in increased histamine levels. Histamine cannot be destroyed by freezing or cooking.
 
Importers, Suppliers, and Distributors:
 
Importers, suppliers, and distributors should not use and should discard or destroy any yellowfin tuna imported from Truong Phu Xanh Co., LTD with a production date in 2019.
 
Restaurants and Retailers:
 
Restaurants and retailers should contact their suppliers to confirm the source of their yellowfin tuna because not all product was distributed in packaging that identifies Truong Phu Xanh Co., LTD. Yellowfin tuna imported from this company with a production date in 2019 should not be used, served, repacked, or sold; and should be discarded.
 
Consumers:
 
While we expect restaurants and retailers will have removed yellowfin tuna with a production date in 2019 from the Vietnamese supplier Truong Phu Xanh Co., LTD, consumers should ask if the yellowfin tuna being served or sold was imported from the Vietnamese supplier Truong Phu Xanh Co., LTD and has a production date in 2019.

Illegal fishing heats up diplomatic exchanges between Vietnam, Malaysia, and Indonesia

May 14, 2019 — Diplomatic relations in Southeast Asia have been strained in recent weeks following alleged encroachments by Vietnamese fishermen in Malaysian and Indonesian territorial waters.

Tensions have flared as inspectors from the European Commission are expected to visit Vietnam later this month or early June to review the “yellow card” given to Vietnam in 2017, imposed in part due to Vietnam’s failure to curb its fleet’s participation in illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

On 8 May, Malaysia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Vietnam’s ambassador to demand an explanation of the large number of encroachments of Vietnamese vessels into Malaysian territorial waters. Ministry Deputy Secretary-General Raja Datuk Nushirwan Zainal Abidin received ambassador Le Quy Quynh and handed over a protest note expressing the Malaysian government’s objection to the encroachments, according to a statement from the ministry.

“The Vietnamese government was urged to take measures to rectify the situation,” the statement said.

A total of 748 vessels and 7,203 Vietnamese crew members have been detained by Malaysian authorities on suspicion of illegal fishing since 2006. The encroachments into Malaysian waters by Vietnamese fishermen are not only a threat to Malaysian citizens, but also a violation of Malaysia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and contravene international law, including relevant provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the ministry’s statement said.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

US shrimp imports down for second straight month

April 18, 2019 — Shrimp imports into the United States fell again in February, with a drop of nearly 10 percent over the same month a year prior.

The U.S. brought in 42,871 metric tons (MT) of shrimp, 9.9 percent less than the 47,568 MT imported in February 2018. Indonesia, Vietnam, China and Thailand all saw significant decreases in the amount of shrimp they sent to the U.S. in February.

The major outlier to the trend continued to be India, which saw its total rise from 13,361 MT in February 2018 to 16,053 MT in February 2019, an increase of more than 20 percent. India also saw an increase in January 2019, and it was by far the largest importer of shrimp into the U.S. in 2018, becoming the first country to import 500 million pounds of shrimp in a calendar year.

The shrimp import figures were released on Wednesday, 17 April, by NOAA’s Office of Science and Technology.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

China accuses Vietnam of illegal fishing, dismisses compensation claim

March 29, 2019 — China has dismissed a request from the Vietnamese government for USD 130,000 (EUR 116,000) compensation for the sinking of a Vietnamese trawler in disputed waters of the South China Sea, claiming instead that the vessel was guilty of “illegal fishing” and was sunk before a Chinese vessel reached the scene.

The Vietnam Fisheries Association, a state sponsored body, wants USD 130,000 paid to the owners of a trawler sunk at the weekend, but in a regular media briefing this week, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Yu Shuang described Vietnam’s claims as “fabricated.”

A note from the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry describes the ramming of a trawler by a “Chinese vessel numbered 44101” off the Hoang Sa Archipelago, commonly known as the Paracel Islands. Water cannon was used by the Chinese, who drove the vessel onto a reef and sunk it, with five fishermen on board rescued by another Vietnamese fishing boat, according to the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry.

While China is Vietnam’s top trading partner, relations between China and its southern neighbor continue to be battered by China’s heavy-handed enforcement of claims of ownership over a large swathe of the South China Sea. Relations have long been testy since China seized the Paracel Islands from South Vietnam by force in 1974, and since it recently built a military base there that includes a runway capable of handling military aircraft.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

New government rules threaten Vietnam’s tuna sector

March 7, 2019 — Tuna importers and exporters in Vietnam are complaining that their business operations have been severely impacted due to new requirements from the country’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, according to statements from Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

There are two circulars from the ministry that are now affecting both importers and exporters of tuna, VASEP said.

On 25 December, 2018, the ministry issued a revised circular, effective 10 February this year, which stated that consignments imported from ships at the oceans via transit ports in other countries must now submit a certification document or they will not be cleared. The document must include name of the ships, their registration numbers, their flag states, names and volumes of the catches, unloading time and location, and preservation conditions. The document, provided by authorities at the transit ports, must also certify that the catches are kept as at their original state and have not been under any processing phases.

VASEP, however, said most of the countries and territories through which VASEP members import their tuna refuse to provide such a document. Only Thailand and the Philippines had agreed to begin providing the certification, but even their documents do not contain all information required by Vietnamese authorities, VASEP said.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

China tackling tax evasion in seafood sector on many fronts

February 15, 2019 — Chinese authorities are touting their latest prize in an intensification of their ongoing crackdown in illegal seafood-related operations.

The arrest of a smuggling gang accused of bringing CNY 2.6 billion (USD 385.5 million, EUR 340.3 million) worth of frozen seafood clandestinely across the border from Vietnam over a three-year period was announced in prime-time coverage across regional and national television channels in January.

Customs and police forces from across southern China collaborated on the prosecution of the gang. The investigators hailed the operation as a triumph in protecting food safety and fair tax collection for the Chinese people. Those arrested include the CEO of a major processing and distribution firm in Dalian, who could face a trial that will set an example for the industry.

In another high-profile bust, a gang of 55 suspects were arrested in August 2018 for allegedly controlling the marine fishing sector in the port city of Weifang. The gang “occupied by force” the sea space in the outlying Shouguang and Changyi counties and forced fishing and aquaculture companies to pay for access to the water, according to an indictment published by the local Public Security Bureau (PSB), China’s police force. The gang also “taxed” the vessels according to the volume of their catch.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

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