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Organized by: Ministry of Agriculture, People¡¯s Republic of China (China Council for the Promotion of International Trade-Sub Council Agriculture) AND Sea Fare Group, Inc. Supported by: Seafood Choices Alliance Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Den Norske Veritas
The Ministry of Agriculture of the People¡¯s Republic of China has announced that the second Sustainable Seafood Forum will be held in conjunction with China Fisheries & Seafood Expo in Dalian this November. The one-day Forum will be held Monday, November 1st, the day before China Fisheries & Seafood Expo, which runs November 2nd to 4th. China Fisheries & Seafood Expo, which celebrates its 15th anniversary this year, is the largest seafood exposition held in Asia. The Sustainable Seafood Forum, which is the only event of its kind held in Asia, is supported by China¡¯s Bureau of Fisheries and a variety of NGOs actively engaged in improving the sustainability of the global seafood supply. The Forum, which will be held at the Dalian World Expo Center, is organized by Sea Fare Group, Inc. of Seattle and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, Sub-Council Agriculture, the organizers of China Fisheries & Seafood Expo. ¡°China leads the world in aquatic products production and exports. If our seafood industry is to stay in this place, we have to learn more about how to produce seafood on a sustainable basis,¡± says Mr. Niu Dun, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture. ¡°This exchange of information was very useful last year in Qingdao and many more people from both China and Overseas will attend this year¡¯s Forum in Dalian.¡± The Sustainability Forum will feature speakers from Asia, North America and the EU. Speakers will include major seafood buyers who will discuss why markets are moving towards sustainable seafood, seafood producers who have initiated successful sustainable seafood production practices, Chinese government officials and NGO speakers who will discuss various certification options and rating criteria for sustainable seafood producers. ¡°More and more major seafood buyers are committing to sourcing only seafood that is produced on a sustainable basis,¡± says Peter Redmayne, president of Sea Fare Group. ¡° Most of these buyers source a lot of product from China, so they are committed to helping their Chinese suppliers become sustainable. The Forum is a great opportunity for the Chinese industry and their Overseas customers to come together and exchange ideas and information on seafood sustainability.¡± ¡°The Chinese industry is just beginning to understand of all the complex issues surrounding the sustainability of seafood," says Dick Jones, Program Director for Sustainable Fisheries Partnership, a primary sponsor of the Forum. "The NGO community is ready to engage and help empower Chinese producers to move on a more sustainable path. It's critical that we increase supplies of sustainable seafood sooner rather than later.¡± The Sustainable Seafood Forum builds on a growing number of recent efforts to educate Chinese seafood regulators and producers about sustainability. This June, for example, Sea Fare Group, the Dalian Bureau of Fisheries and the Seafood Choices Alliance, held a seminar in Dalian on sustainable seafood. According to Philip Chou, Seafood Choices Outreach Manager, more than 100 companies attended. ¡°If you want to engage the Chinese industry, you really need to go there and meet face-to-face with both the industry and government officials. Holding the Sustainable Seafood Forum in conjunction with a major seafood show like China Fisheries & Seafood Expo makes it more convenient for people to participate.¡± Chinese attendance at the high-level Forum will be by invitation, however Overseas companies will be able to register online at www.chinaseafoodexpo.com. ¡°We have a much larger room this year so more people from both China and Overseas canattend,¡± says Mr. Yang Hong, general manager of Sea Fare (China) Ltd., which is coordinating logistics for the Sustainability Forum.
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