The Marine Stewardship council is making a big push to extend its presence in China with the signing up of a Macau casino, a billboard campaign on the Beijing subway, and the certification of a Chinese clam fishery.
A recipe for garlic-flavored Manila clams created by Chinese chef David Liu appears in the Ocean Cookbook 2022. The clams come from Dalian-based Nichirei Fresh Co., which recently was one of several partners in the MSC certification of a Manila clam fishery located in the Yalu River estuary, which China shares with North Korea.
“It started in 2016 through a fisheries improvement project, and finally entered the formal review stage in February 2020. It took exactly six years until the official certification was obtained in September 2021,” Nichirei Fresh Chairman Li Xiaozhou told SeafoodSource.
The FIP involved several partners alongside Nichirei – among them local government, Dalian Ocean University and the China Aquatic Products Processing and Distribution Association (CAPPMA) as well as MSC and WWF offices in China and Japan (traditionally the key market for Chinese clams). Another seafood firm, Dandong Taihong Foodstuffs was also involved.
A spokesperson for MSC China told SeafoodSource that the clam certification is a “big step forward” for MSC in China, adding that Nicherei “will play a very important role for the clam’s marketing linkage after getting certification.”
The clams may soon be on the menu at the Wynn Palace in Macau, the latest hotel (and first casino) in Greater China to sign on to the MSC chain of custody certification. And a January 2021 billboard campaign on the line one Beijing subway is promoting the MSC brand to Chinese consumers.
Xiaozhou said he believes awareness of the Marine Stewardship Council eco-label will continue to gradually increase in China, crediting the rigor of the certification process for ensuring high product standards for sustainability.
Photo courtesy of Nichirei Fresh Co.
