An official from the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) said on December 8, Vietnamese tra fish breeders should not be anxious about the World Wildlife Fund (WWF)’s recent consumer guide that put Tra fish on the ‘red list’.
Nguyen Tu Cuong, former chief of the National Fisheries Quality Assurance and Veterinary Directorate (NAFIQAVED), currently working for VASEP, said, “fish farmers should not be worried about the list because it is just a consumer guide, not a trade barrier”.
Mr. Cuong has urged WWF in Vietnam to withdraw the consumer guide pamphlets, as the evidence is unscientific, incomplete and biased.
Pham Anh Tuan, deputy director of the General Department of Fisheries, part of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), said WWF Vietnam was totally disconcerted about the WWF’s new recommendation of Vietnamese tra fish.
WWF Vietnam also affirmed that there had no standard system for putting Tra fish in the red list, he said.
WWF representative in Vietnam promised to seek information of the case and provide to Vietnam and will ask WWF to publish a disclaimer if it can’t display any compelling evidence for its claim, he added.
Department of Fisheries said it is willing to invite WWF to tour the farms on the Mekong delta and see the breeding pools and methodologies.
Mr. Tuan asserted WWF’s announcement was a violation of the general principle of respecting the participation of other parties as neither Vietnamese breeders nor MARD have not known its announcement before it was released.
Vietnamese Tra fish in recent years has become popular in European countries due to the high quality and value.
To protect the Tra fish industry in Vietnam, many fish farming areas have met the SQF 1000 CM standards of the Food Marketing Association (FMI) and the U.S. global standards for agricultural products (Global GAP).
These standards are designed to reassure Tra fish consumers that the industry has a minimal detrimental environmental impact, the limited use of chemicals, and ensures that all workers in the industry adhere to the health and safety regulations.
Tra fish is one of the kinds of catfish and Vietnam catfish products have been exported to over 120 countries worldwide, including many European markets, Australia, the U.S. and Japan.
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