September 6, 2013 — Chinese seafood firms have “a lot of work to do” before Marine Stewardship Council certification takes off in the country, according to the MSC’s chief in Asia, Kelvin Ng. While there are several Chinese firms in pre-assessment the only Chinese firm currently in the certification process is Dalian-based scallops producer-processor Zhangzidao, according to Ng.
Speaking at a seminar on sustainability at the Seafood Expo Asia in Hong Kong, Ng suggested Chinese fisheries firms need advice and support from bodies like MSC, which has deployed experts such as marine biologists in China and other seafood producing countries.
Worldwide, meanwhile, the process of certifying sustainable seafood is coming to a crossroads: “Most of the low hanging fruit has already been certified,” said Ng. Management systems and lack of data across much of the international wild-caught fisheries sector makes expansion of certifications in wild-caught fisheries very difficult, he added.
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