In an op-ed late last week, McCain said that for three weeks he and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) had asked for a vote on their amendment to scrap the “absurd Catfish Office,” which has yet to inspect any catfish, but “despite repeated requests” the chair and ranking member of the Agriculture Committee, Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Thad Cochran (R-MS), blocked a vote.
Southern state lawmakers succeeded in getting a provision in the 2008 farm bill to move catfish from under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to USDA to help protect domestic catfish farmers from the flood of cheap foreign imports, but the move has been bogged down in the details and politics. Despite having already spent about $20 million on the initiative, USDA has not yet implemented catfish inspection, five years later.
A spokesman for FSIS told Food Safety News that the agency currently has a “core staff” of four people working on “further policy development in anticipation of potential implementation of the catfish inspection program,” but since developing a proposed rule in 2011 the Office of Catfish Inspection has been folded into other program areas.
The Government Accountability Office has repeatedly called the program a waste of taxpayer dollars because it is “duplicative” and because it would focus on Salmonella, which is not an issue with catfish, and not illegal drug residues, which could be a real concern.
“They want you to think Americans have been eating unsafe foreign catfish (it's just catfish, of course) even though the FDA, the CDC, and the USDA itself say that's untrue. Out of the 1.8 billion catfish enjoyed by Americans each year, only two illnesses are reported on average,” wrote McCain for Politico last week.
“I obviously support maintaining a safe food supply,” added McCain. “But seafood inspections already fall under FDA's jurisdiction, which requires foreign catfish farms to follow the same food-safety standards as domestic farms. Unless catfish have suddenly sprouted legs, USDA should stick to meat, poultry and egg inspections.”
FDA has also been called out by GAO for having inadequate oversight over imported seafood in general — an increasingly critical issue as nearly 90 percent of seafood consumed in the U.S. is now imported.
The Senate had voted for an amendment to scrap the program last summer, the last time it considered a version of the farm bill, but no such vote was held this time around. The House Agriculture Committee recently voted to repeal the inspection scheme, but it is not clear whether the language will make it into law.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In the first six months of 2026, Ha Tinh province continued to implement comprehensive solutions to combat IUU fishing; strictly manage the fishing fleet, control fishing vessels entering and leaving ports, operate vessel tracking devices, trace the origin of seafood, and severely punish violations.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnam's tilapia exports reached USD 7 million in June 2026, down 32% compared with the same month in 2025. Nevertheless, thanks to strong growth in the first five months of the year, cumulative tilapia exports in the first half of 2026 totaled USD 69 million, up 67% year on year.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Sa Giang Import-Export Joint Stock Company, a member of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), has been honored with the "Famous Brand - Competitive Vietnamese Brand 2026" certification at an award ceremony organized by the Vietnam Intellectual Property Association (VIPA).
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) China imported nearly $1.4 billion worth of Vietnamese seafood in the first half of the year, a 40% increase compared to the same period last year, surpassing the US to become the largest export market for the industry.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) As part of Vietfish 2026, the International Seafood Hosted Buyer Program has been designed as a dedicated B2B matchmaking initiative for selected international buyers. The program provides opportunities to meet directly with Vietnamese seafood companies, gain market insights, and experience Vietnam's seafood supply chain firsthand.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) A Story from Cà Mau’s Coast It’s 5 AM in Cà Mau. Minh, a third-generation fisherman, is ready to set sail. But unlike his father and grandfather, his boat no longer runs on an old diesel engine that burns fuel and clouds the sky with smoke. Instead, it’s powered by a hybrid engine that saves 40% fuel—funded by an ESG program from a major seafood exporter.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnam's pangasius industry is shifting its focus from increasing production volume to enhancing value-added products in order to meet the increasingly stringent requirements of export markets. In An Giang Province—the country's leading hub for pangasius farming and processing—businesses and farmers are prioritizing product quality, traceability, food safety, and sustainable development rather than expanding output.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Following strong growth in 2025, Vietnam’s tuna exports to Sweden continued to edge higher during the first five months of 2026. However, the picture is far from straightforward. Orders have fluctuated significantly from month to month, indicating that this market remains cautious, with purchasing decisions closely tied to actual demand and the import cycles of Nordic distributors rather than to a steady upward trend.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) China’s shrimp imports in the first five months of 2026 continued to surpass the same period in 2025, indicating that demand in the world’s largest seafood-consuming market remains strong. However, behind the growth figures lies an increasingly competitive landscape: Ecuador dominates the competitively priced whiteleg shrimp segment, India remains the second-largest supplier, while Vietnam stands out in the lobster segment but still needs to strengthen its advantages through quality, traceability, and reliable supply.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Lobster exports to China continued to surge in the first half of this year, putting the lobster industry on the verge of reaching an export value exceeding $1 billion.
VASEP - HIỆP HỘI CHẾ BIẾN VÀ XUẤT KHẨU THỦY SẢN VIỆT NAM
Chịu trách nhiệm: Ông Nguyễn Hoài Nam - Phó Tổng thư ký Hiệp hội
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Trưởng Ban Biên tập: Bà Phùng Thị Kim Thu
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