WWF to Help Vietnam Promote Pangasius Fish

The World Wild Fund (WWF) will help Vietnam promote its pangasius fish according to the long-term cooperation memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the fund and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s General Department of Fisheries in Hanoi on Dec 17.

 

The cooperation seeks to help Vietnamese pangasius fish earn the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) certified credit label that will bring added value and market access for the product.

 

Under the MoU, WWF will take responsibility for promoting ASC certified Vietnamese pangasius fish globally in order to help fish farmers earn premium value for their product.

 

Accordingly, preparations for the work are planned to be completed in the first half of 2011, including the organization of seminars and training courses for fish farmers and processors, to create a consensus among them in applying ASC standards.

 

WWF will also take responsibility for seeking financing sources to support Vietnam in the process of attaining ASC certification.

 

The General Department of Fisheries and WWF also set a goal of attaining relevant international sustainable development standards for 25% of Vietnam ’s export pangasius volume in 2011 and 2012, with 10% to be certified by ASC.

 

The target by 2015 is to have 100% of export pangasius fish achieving international standards on sustainable development, with half being certified by ASC.

 

Vietnam exports 650,000 tons of pangasius fish a year and will annually ship about 800,000 tons abroad in the next five years.

 

Currently majority of Vietnam’s aquatic farmers are following global Good Aquaculture Practice (Global GAP) which is temporary according to WWF.

 

WWF officially removed Vietnam-produced pangasius fish from its red List on December 17 after the fund’s six-member delegation worked out with the Asian country’s authorities last week. (vietnamplus.vn)