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Seafood Choices Laying the Foundations of Seafood Sustainability in China

China, which exports more seafood than any other country, reprocesses and exports much of its seafood products out of the port of Dalian. Phil Chou

China exports the greatest amount of seafood of any country, and, because its growing middle class continues to demand more, it now also consumes the greatest amount of seafood per capita. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, Chinese consume more than 50 lbs (25.8 kilogram) compared to an average of more than 30 pounds (14.4 kilograms) per capita throughout the rest of the industrial world.

Recognizing this country's expanding influence on the seafood market, Seafood Choices Outreach Manager, Philip Chou, traveled to the Chinese city of Dalian to talk about some of the major issues in the Chinese seafood industry,traceability and lack of sustainability certification, and how seafood industry representatives could incorporate sustainability into their business. About 100 seafood exporters and re-processors attended the seminar organized by the Dalian Fisheries Bureau on June 9. Liu Xinzhong, director of the Marketing and Processing Department in the Bureau of Fisheries at the Ministry of Agriculture gave a presentation on current seafood trade statistics and trends in China. Peter Redmayne of Sea Fare Expositions, Inc., a seafood industry expert and developer of the China Fisheries & Seafood Expo trade show also spoke about sustainable business practices including the demand for sustainable seafood in North American and European markets and how NGOs are playing a transformative role in seafood sustainability by forming partnerships with seafood companies.

SeaWeb's Phil Chou (above) and SeaFare's Peter Redmayne (below) spoke to seafood industry representatives in China about how they could incorporate sustainability into their business. Peter Redmayne; Phil Chou

In the seafood industry, traceability is the tracking of fish products from point of capture or fish farm to plate. Certification allows for independent assurance of environmental, social, organic or other particular kind of practice. For certification, a third party verifies that products, systems or persons have fulfilled specified requirements. A decision on whether to certify a business or product is made based on information an inspector or assessor provides.

This seminar in Dalian will help lay the foundation for and promote the second annual Sustainable Seafood Forum, to be held in conjunction with the Fisheries and Seafood Expo in China this November. Like the first forum organized by Seafare, WWF, and Sustainable Fisheries Partnership and held in Qingdao, China, last year, the next forum in Dalian will bring together major seafood buyers from North America and Europe, certifiers, nongovernment organizations and other industry players to educate the Chinese seafood industry and government regulators about the growing global sustainable seafood market and its associated challenges and opportunities.

Because the government is closely tied to business in China, Chou also met with Ni Hongxing, director of the Agricultural Trade Promotion Center at the Ministry of Agriculture, to discuss potentially providing more training for government officials in the fisheries bureau about sustainability practices. Seafood Choices will continue to work with those in the Chinese government and seafood industry as well as other marine conservation groups with an interest in promoting sustainability in the Chinese seafood industry, so other workshops may be on the horizon.

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