Sebastian Lopez, from Andres Bello university, said current sizes available were a signal that the species have been excessively fished during the past decades.
“Some 50 years ago, it was possible to find a 70 centimetre-size hake in the market. Then, 20 years ago, the maximum size fell to 50cm-6-cm, and today fish are 30cm long at most,” Lopez said.
The expert emphasized that this is the consequence of fishing companies capturing ever younger fish of the species, to a point in which a considerable part of the fish population will not be able to reach sexual maturity.
It is then that sustainability of the species enters an irreversible decline phase unless radical measures are implemented.
An indirect effect of suffering overfishing is the change in feeding patterns in the species and the drop in quality of egg production, Lopez said.
“Personally, I believe it is time to begin discussions about the exhaustion of the hake stock, and how rapidly the hake fishing companies would be hit,” he explained.
According to Lopez, fishing companies have become larger and their methods of capture use better technologies, and their vessels have higher storage levels. Catch numbers have increased year after year.
The alternative, Lopez said, would be to manage the fishing stocks in the same way other developed countries have, to recover the species with success.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) The year 2025 marks the 30th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and the United States (1995–2025). In parallel with the nation's progress in international economic integration, bilateral seafood trade has followed a remarkably impressive growth trajectory, expanding from an initial scale of just tens of millions of US dollars to nearly $2 billion annually. This growth has positioned the United States as Vietnam’s largest seafood export market for many consecutive years.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) On December 12, 2025, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Processing and Export (VASEP) issued document 231/CV-VASEP regarding strengthening measures to combat IUU fishing and working with the Government to lift the EC's IUU yellow card warning.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Tilapia is easy to farm and provides high economic and nutritional value, making it a sought-after export commodity in many countries.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s seafood exports in the first 10 months of 2025 recorded significant progress, reaching more than USD 9.5 billion, up 15% year-on-year. This result reflects the sector’s persistent efforts amid a highly volatile market, especially policy shocks from the US Although signs of slowdown emerged in the third quarter due to countervailing taxes, key product groups still maintained strong momentum and created a foundation for full-year exports to reach USD 11 billion.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s agreement with the United States on a framework for reciprocal, fair, and balanced trade—reached during the 2025 ASEAN Summit in Malaysia—has generated strong optimism for Vietnamese exports, including tuna. Numerous positive points in the joint statement have raised high expectations for Vietnamese export goods, but turning these expectations into tangible benefits remains a long and challenging journey.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) At the conference on “Linking the Production and Consumption Chain of Ca Mau Crab 2025,” Vice Chairman of the Ca Mau Provincial People’s Committee Lê Văn Sử posed a central question: how to shift the province’s crab exports toward official trade channels, instead of relying heavily on small-scale border trade with China as currently practiced.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) The whitefish market in Japan is showing a clear divergence among supplying countries, in which Vietnam continues to affirm its role as a stable and high-potential exporter. Vietnam currently ranks third after the US and Russia in whitefish export value to Japan. Thanks to tariff incentives and the ability to meet Japan’s strict standards, Vietnamese pangasius continues to record a stable and positive growth trend.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) The People's Committee of Ca Mau Province has just issued a plan to expand the super-intensive, low-water-exchange, biosecure white-leg shrimp farming model (RAS-IMTA) for whiteleg shrimp farming to a scale of 1,500 hectares, aiming to develop high-tech, sustainable and environmentally friendly shrimp farming.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Sa Giang Import-Export Joint Stock Company (HNX: SGC) plans to issue over 7.1 million shares to raise nearly 465 Billion VND for Hoan Ngoc M&A Deal.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) According to Rabobank, global tilapia production is forecast to exceed 7 million tons in 2025, driven by a strong recovery in major producing countries including China, Indonesia, Egypt, Bangladesh and Vietnam. Among them, Vietnam is emerging as a potential tilapia supplier in the global supply chain, capitalizing on market fluctuations to expand production and exports.
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