While the new EU rules do not take effect until December 2014, the “industry is supposed to be getting its house in order and coming into compliance,” Paul Williams, chief executive of U.K. seafood association Seafish, told SeafoodSource.
“The horse meat scandal has accelerated the emphasis on [labeling rules] and brings up the issue of trusting suppliers of seafood as well,” Williams said.
Consumers surveyed about the horse meat issue said they were less bothered by the fact that they were eating horse meat, but by the fact that they perceived suppliers were cheating and lying to them, according to Williams. “We have to show that we are an industry that the consumer can trust. When something is labeled as cod, haddock, or whatever, we have to make sure it is what it is,” Williams said.
To that end, new E.U. food labeling regulations would require country-of-origin labeling on meat and seafood. The public comment period for seafood labeling regulations drafted by the U.K. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) closed at the end of January. While Seafish supports the guidelines, the industry does not see the need for seafood to be designated by the vessel on which it is caught, as proposed.
“Labeling by the vessel that caught the fish isn’t very useful information: you could have a flagged vessel anywhere in the world,” Williams said. “The most useful thing for the consumer is knowing where the fish is caught, such as the U.K.,” he added.
The U.K. government proposed country-of-origin labeling rules for seafood in 2011, shortly after a university investigation found mislabeled seafood in the country’s supermarkets and restaurants. “When you go into fish and chip shops, you can pick up the wrong piece of fish accidentally, but there have been documented cases of deliberate substitution,” Williams said.
The U.K. mislabeling incidents remind Williams of the recent Oceana investigation in the U.S., which found that nearly a third of seafood in grocery stores and restaurants were mislabeled. “I think we are pretty tight in the U.K., particular for retailers, and better than the Oceana report showed in the U.S.,” Williams said. Still, Williams says the U.K. seafood industry must do everything in its power to maintain and improve consumer trust in the supply chain.
(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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