Pangasius farming. (Photo: WWF, Scott Dickerson)

WWF apologizes, vows to remove panga from its red list

VIET NAM
Thursday, December 16, 2010, 15:10 (GMT + 9)

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has acknowledged that it placed Vietnamese catfish (tra or panga) on its 2010-11 consumer red list unjustly and vowed to remove it at once.

Head of the WWF International Global Seafood Programme Mark Powell has admitted that the organisation made mistake when speaking at a meeting held in Hanoi with the General Department of Fisheries, Vietnam´s Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP). As well, Powell said the Fund would immediately take the fish off the red list and instead encourage European seafood consumers to keep shopping for the fish.
 
Nguyen Huu Dung, vice chairman of VASEP, opened the meeting by again emphasising that WWF’s decision to include Vietnam’s tra on the consumer’s red list and thereby warning people in six European countries -- Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Norway, and Demark -- to steer clear of it did not constitute a proper assessment. He said the results that WWF recently provided were not transparent and suitable.
 
In response, Powell officially took responsibility and said the situation was his fault because he had announced the inaccurate data, reports VietNamNet Bridge.

At the same time, he noted that removing pangasius from the red list may take some time.
 
Deputy Head of the General Department of Fisheries Pham Anh Tuan immediately confronted Powell’s statement by reminding him that WWF’s mistake has incurred Vietnamese fishers great losses and caused indignation among locals.

“In any case, the WFF must remove tra fish from the list immediately,” he stressed.
 
As a result of being presented with strong evidence and convincing arguments from Vietnamese officials, Powell agreed to move the fish to the list titled “On the way to sustainable development” and pledged  to help the country get the fish onto the “Sustainable development” list.
 
In agreement, Dung commented that placing pangasius on the “sustainable development” list is a goal shared with Vietnam and that the country is now working toward that objective. Dung said that Vietnam and WWF can together work to create trademark for Vietnamese tra to guarantee the industry´s sustainable growth.
 
“We agree with Vietnam that the country’s catfish industry has a bright future,” Powell stated, reports Viet News.

Following the meeting, Pham Anh Tuan invited Powell and other WWF representatives to visit some tra farms in Vietnam.
 
This week, WWF representatives will meet with Vietnamese officials once more to try and come up with an agreement to turn pangasius into a product of sustainable development on the international market.

Related articles:

- VASEP asks WWF to reconsider its red-listing of Vietnamese catfish 
- WWF condemns tra to the 'red list' 

By Natalia Real
[email protected]
www.seafood.media

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