Commercial fishermen of New Zealand are not convinced with the imports of cheap farmed Vietnamese catfish. They fear that it will undermine domestic fish supplies. They are furious that MAF Biosecurity has approved the importation of frozen and filleted Vietnamese catfish. However, Nelson-based seafood company Sanford supports the importation, saying it will fill a gap in the country’s fish supply.
Doug Saunders-Loder, President Commercial Fishermen’s Federation, opined that cheap imported catfish also known as basa or pangasius posed serious health risks to consumers and could wipe out the inshore fishing industry. He also added that the consumers of New Zealand demanded sustainably caught clean fish, but with no country-of-origin labelling, consumers would not know what they were eating.
According to Doug Saunders-Loder the greatest fear is that the catfish will replace domestic fish as it is cheap. This had already happened with imports of cheap Asian scallops, he said. He also told that the thriving Vietnamese catfish industry, which is based on farms in the Mekong Delta, had a poor health record. Even the World Wildlife Fund has certified that catfish farms were prone to health problems and the inappropriate use of antibiotics and chemicals.
New Zealand Food Safety Authority assistant director Scott Crerar comments that the authority had no specific concerns about imports of frozen catfish. However, in last year’s draft MAF Biosecurity report on catfish importation, the authority said it had concerns about the potential presence of antimicrobial drugs, agricultural compounds and heavy metals in catfish.
Sanford managing director Eric Barratt said catfish imports underpinned New Zealand’s free-trade position. He also questioned that the country needs access to international markets, and why should we put up trade barriers?”
