(vasep.com.vn) Recently, the local and international media published that China banned importing fresh, live shrimp originated from Vietnam. Some Vietnam shrimp exporters to China showed their concerns to the news. In fact, shrimp shipment to China in the past month was not affected, even exports has been boosted due to the market’s hiking demand for shrimp.

Indonesian government has a few pilot projects including a 1000-hectare 'demonstration' farm but questions over finances remain.

Producers of sustainable Northwest U.S. albacore tuna are promoting their product more in the U.S. after a drop in demand from Europe.

(vasep.com.vn) In the late August 2012, Russia formally became the 156th member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Within the next 3 – 4 years, the country will slash import duty imposed on Vietnam fish from 10 percent to 6 percent.

Vietnamese yarn and agro-aqua products will enjoy deeper and faster tax cuts when entering the South Korean market under the free trade agreement (FTA) being negotiated between Vietnam and South Korea.

The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) decided at its annual meeting on November 19 to expand the total allowable catch (TAC) of eastern Atlantic bluefin tuna for 2013 by 500 tons from the previous year to 13,400 tons--the first increase in the past decade.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) has voted to set the 2013 catch level for the US West Coast Pacific sardine fishery at 66,495 tonnes.

(vasep.com.vn) According to report of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, total export turnover of agro-forestry and aquatic products during the past eleven months of 2012 touched US$25 billion, up 9.9 percent compared to the same period of 2011 in which seafood exports was estimated to hit US$5.6 billion.

The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) projects that the world's wild fish harvest will fall to 90 million tons in 2012, down 2 percent from 2011.

The Commissioner of Fisheries of the European Union (EU), Maria Damanaki, ensures the EU executive will priorise aquaculture in its future budgets to leverage the growth of this sector with great prospects to create jobs.

Myanmar plans to export farmed freshwater tilapia fish to the United States following the Friday, November 16 easing of an import ban, the vice chairman of the Myanmar Fisheries Federation said last week.

(vasep.com.vn) On October 19th 2012, at the head office of Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) in Ho Chi Minh city, the 9th congress of VASEP executive committee for the 4th term was chaired by Mr. Tran Thien Hai, the chairman of the Association.

The European Commission (EC) has tabled its annual proposal on next year’s guide prices for fresh and frozen fisheries products, and the European Union (EU) producer price for tuna processing.

(vasep.com.vn) Hike of raw fish prices, rise in pangasius feed for three times, lack of capital for maintaining operation and lower demand of consumer markets were main factors that pushed Vietnamese pangasius export in Q.III/2012 down by more than 10 percent to US$439 million from the same time a year ago.

Moscow’s plenipotentiary representative in Pacific Russia, Victor Ishaev, has called for legislation which would limit fish exports from Russia, his press service reports. Ishaev is both the Minister for Economic Development of Pacific Russia, and the region’s Governor-General.