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Vietnam sets global standards for raising tra, basa fish
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has held talks in HCM City to ask for ideas from fish breeders, retailers, and manufacturers of food and chemicals as well as processors to prepare a draft on global standards for raising tra and basa fish.
They aim to create a global set of standards governing the whole process of raising tra and basa fish, which has not been applied so far.
This set of standards is based on the actual capacity of the related parties to handle environmental and social issues that arise from raising tra and basa fish. They include specific criteria regarding the law, land and water use, water contamination, the management of animal food and chemicals, health and safety of raisers. These criteria are expected to apply to any scale of operation.
Hundreds of Vietnamese farmers participated in developing the standards in a transparent manner, in line with stipulations issued by the International Social and Environmental Accreditation and Labelling Alliance (ISEAL).
Flavio Corsin, a senior advisor to the WWF Vietnam, stressed the importance of the new standards as the global demand for tra and basa fish is rising and Vietnam is a major supplier. Vietnam earned US$1.4 billion from exports of 1.1 million tonnes in 2008, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers.
The WWF has now held eight similar meetings, involving more than 2,000 people.
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