Major seafood products farmed in southern provinces like tra fish and shrimps have been found containing no banned antibiotics lately, according to the southern unit of agro-forestry-fisheries quality.

(vasep.com.vn) According to the draft circular of Ministry of Finance (MOF) issued on Aug 12th 2013, some kinds of administrative fees paid by fish producers, exporters and importers may increased by 30 percent compared to current levels.

After a drop of 4.8 per cent in the first quarter of 2013, Vietnamese seafood exports in the second quarter started to recover with a growth of 4.5 per cent against the compatible period of last year, thanks to stronger demand from key importing markets, which led to higher prices for fishery products.

Drought has reduced the supply of product in some of China’s key freshwater regions, forcing up prices and leading local fish markets to consider whitefish alternatives.

Huge demographic change in rural China is set to lead to higher costs of seafood shipped from China and will create a need for scale to replace the smaller players who currently produce the vast bulk of China’s aquaculture output.

(vasep.com.vn) Business activity of many seafood enterprises reached deadlock due to many difficulties.

President Park Geun-hye rode on a Coast Guard boat this week, to get a firsthand look at red tides that have been sweeping through waters off South Korea's south coast for weeks and taking increasingly heavy tolls on fish farms there.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been refused more time to enact the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), signed into law by President Obama in January 2011.

The video detailing the Gulf Seafood Trace traceability, entitled “Your Seafood Has a Story: Gulf Seafood Trace," received Bronze Telly awards in the 2013 Film/Video competition in the “Nature/Wildlife” and “Corporate Training” categories of the 34th Annual Telly Awards recently.

Argentina exported 228,062 tonnes of seafood between January and July 2013, a figure that shows a rise of 3.3 per cent compared to the same period in 2012, when 220,604 tonnes had been shipped abroad.

The value of Norwegian seafood exports in July totalled NOK 4.7 billion (EUR 601.8 million), which is an increase of no less than NOK 1.2 billion (EUR 153.6 million) or 33 per cent compared to July 2012.

(vasep.com.vn) In August 2013, Vietnamese seafood exports are estimated to reach US$591 million, leading to a year-to-date value of US$4 billion, up 1.3 percent from the compatible period of 2012, according to Vietnam Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Two more fisheries unions have been established in Duy Hai and Duy Nghia communes in Duy Xuyen district, the central coastal province of Quang Nam, raising the number of such unions in the province to four, with more than 400 members.

(vasep.com.vn) Seafood exports by Vietnam in August 2013 continued to increase by 4.5-5 percent to register an estimated turnover of US$590 million. The figure in Jan-Aug 2013 is to reach nearly US$4.1 billion, up 2.5 percent from the compatible period of 2012.

An upcoming webinar is geared toward helping food firms pass muster in SQF audits. Hosted by California-based SafetyChain Software and the Global Food Safety Resource Centre, the free September 20 event focuses on new Safe Quality Food (SQF) editions. The primary purpose is helping companies ready themselves for continuous SQF certification status.