China appears to have made considerable progress in improving the traceability of its fish processing industry, but will need to adapt further if it is to meet the requirements of forthcoming European Union regulations, according to a new report by TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network set up by WWF and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
The study, Understanding China’s Fish Trade and Traceability, characterises China’s fish reprocessing industry and examines to what extent its existing traceability systems will be able to cope with the requirements of the forthcoming EU legislation.
From January 2010, all fish materials imported into the European Union (EU) will have to be accompanied by catch certificates. The certificates will then have to be validated by the flag State of the vessel that caught the fish. To meet the new requirements for exporting to the EU, China will have to issue certificates for all catches by China-flagged vessels, and obtain certificates from other countries when fish is imported into China for processing.
The new laws aim to combat Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported (IUU) fishing. The ability of China as the leading exporter of marine fish products and the world’s fastest growing major economy to meet such requirements is regarded as vital in the process to curb IUU fishing worldwide.
Sally Bailey, WWF-UK’s marine manager said: “Much of the fish destined for the UK and European market goes via China for processing. This is an important step towards eliminating IUU from the UK market which is something retailers, processors and consumers all agree is necessary.”
The study, funded by the UK Government’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), compiled information on the structure of the current fish processing trade for marine species caught or reprocessed by mainland China, and examined the fish documentation schemes in place to look for weaknesses where infiltration of illegally sourced fish might occur.
Species examined in the report include pollock, cod, salmon, redfish, haddock, whiting, coalfish, hake, toothfish and tuna. It is estimated that more than half of the raw materials for China’s re-processing industry derive from the Russian Federation including major inputs of cod and salmon as well as large quantities of imported “unspecified” fish.
However, determining the quantities of species of fish being re-processed is far from straightforward. Customs systems both in China and in some importing countries lack sufficient detail in commodity codes and usually do not check whether fish imports are classified under the appropriate code.
Another complication is that owing to the complexity of the industry, fish may legally change hands several times whilst in China, with obvious implications for product traceability.
Recommendations in the report include streamlining of the monitoring systems currently used by Chinese authorities into a single, integrated and effective traceability system; the development of formal requirements for catch certification and documentation in China; additional assistance from the EU and others to help China comply with new legislation being introduced and to provide intelligence for fisheries enforcement in countries which may be the source of imported IUU fish into China.
