Vietnamese Coalition will focus on Improvement Plans for Blue Swimming Crab

December 20, 2011 Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) has formed its own Crab Council as part of its Seafood Committee that will work on Blue Swimming Crab sustainability projects. NFIs Crab Council is eager to work with the new group and has already donated seed money to help get it up and running.

Weve had success moving Blue Swimming Crab fisheries further along the road towards sustainability in both Indonesia and the Philippines, thanks to the dedicated groups we work with in those countries and we look forward to expanding our support to Vietnam through VASEP, said Ed Rhodes, NFI Crab Council Chairman.

According to VASEP the largest importers of Vietnamese seafood are the United States, Japan and China. Vietnam is ranked 17th among suppliers of all food and agricultural products to the U.S., something the State Department calls an indicator of Vietnams growing importance.

Expanding the Councils support to Vietnam is an important step, said Paul McCarthy, Executive Vice President for Chicken of the Sea Frozen Foods. Were encouraged to hear that participating VASEP members will spearhead the development of fisheries improvement plans and will work with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to execute them.

The first project VASEP plans to fund is work on crab banks, holding systems designed to protect spawning female crabs. This project is part of the Kien Giang Fishery Improvement Program.