WWF’s red-listing of tra ‘absurd’

Direct dialogue has been established between the Viet Nam Directorate of Fisheries and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in Viet Nam following the decision by the WWF’s European members to place Vietnamese tra-fish on their Red List.

The Vietnamese side will push the WWF to promptly publish its standards and criteria for tra-fish production.

Speaking at a press conference in the capital city yesterday, Pham Anh Tuan, Deputy Director General of the Directorate of Fisheries, said the WWF had failed to provide this information.

Tuan said when the standards and criteria were available, Viet Nam would look at them thoroughly to see if they were appropriate.

“We also asked WWF Ha Noi to request the parent organisation to change its advice to European consumers that they should seek alternative seafood in the Seafood Guides printed in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Norway and Denmark,” he said.

Tuan said the inclusion of Vietnamese tra-fish on the Red List in the guides was absurd and a violation of the general principle of respecting the participation of other parties, including WWF Ha Noi, the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and tra-fish farmers.

“Viet Nam appreciates WWF’s co-operation and support in the past, but its recent action was a great regret. Viet Nam calls upon the WWF to consult with its branch in Ha Noi before making any decision relating to Viet Nam,” said Tuan.

Nguyen Tu Cuong, a member of the Viet Nam Fisheries Association, said tra farmers would suffer a lot from the WWF decision.

“The WWF has violated WTO principles as well as the transparency pursued by the international WWF,” said Cuong.

Cuong said at present more than 20 tra-fish breeding areas in Viet Nam had received Global Gap certificates.

According to the Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers, the high quality, value and reasonable price of tra fish had made it popular with European consumers despite numerous barriers and campaigns to discourage buyers.

Viet Nam exported more than 538,000 tonnes of the fish, worth US$1.1 billion, to more than 120 countries in the first 10 months of this year. It is expected the export turnover of tra fish this year will be about $1.4 billion.

Buyers in Europe consume 184,000 tonnes a year, accounting for 36 per cent of total exports. — VNS

Tags: Vietnam Tra fish exports