“This year, we want to engage not only producers, but also retailers, hotels and restaurants that buy seafood from the producers,” Margareth Meutia, WWF senior officer for the program, told Bali Daily on Wednesday.
The establishment of Seafood Savers aims to promote a sustainable fishery industry by ensuring that seafood is produced, caught, processed and distributed sustainably throughout the supply chain, from the sea to the plate.
Since it was established in 2009, the program has received positive responses from industry players. At present, 10 companies — comprising nine fish producers and one retailer — have joined the initiative.
Meutia said more retailers, hotels and restaurants were being targeted to raise awareness on sustainable fishing practices in the local industry and among the public in Indonesia.
“Most of the companies that have joined us are fish exporters. For these companies, applying sustainable practices is a must, due to demand by the importing countries. But we feel that we have to do more to campaign and educate on this issue domestically. Therefore, we want to engage more companies that are doing all their business here,” she said.
She added that the amount of seafood consumed domestically by retailers, hotels and restaurants was significant, thus making it more important to educate the public on sustainable fishing.
By joining the program, companies are assisted to apply principles that are in compliance with the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC). They will also get assistance to be able to achieve MSC or ASC certification.
According to the WWF, the global fishing industry has experienced massive expansion in recent decades. Its report indicates that areas exploited by global fishing fleets have increased tenfold since 1950.
By 2006, 100 million square kilometers, or about one-third of the ocean’s surface, had been impacted by fishing. Global marine catches have increased fivefold from 19 million tons in 1950 to 87 million tons in 2005, thus driving exploitation beyond carrying capacity.
Capture fisheries also face severe issues of by-catch, where a portion of a commercial fishing catch consists of marine animals caught unintentionally, such as juvenile fish, biologically important species and even endangered, threatened and protected species, causing further degradation to the marine ecosystem.
The UN’s Food and Agriculture Office (FAO) reports confirm that the world’s aquaculture production increased from less than 1 million tons per year in the early 1950s to 52 million tons in 2008.
Unfortunately, this growth comes with the use of unsustainable practices that damage the surrounding environment, such as mangrove clearing, excessive use of chemical substances and the introduction of new species.
One of the companies that has joined this initiative is UD Pulau Mas, a Bali-based company exporting live grouper fish. The company dominates the market of live grouper in Indonesia, with 60 percent market share.
(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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