A port in China has seized 45 tons of seafood from Madagascar due to incorrect labeling.
Customs authorities in Jiangmen, a port in Guangdong Province, China, seized the fish and crustaceans for what they claimed was lack of required documentation.
Madagascar has become a focus of Chinese interests in African fisheries. A fisheries agreement signed in 2018 would give the Chinese consortium Taihe Century Investments Development Co a decade-long access to Madagascar’s waters for 330 trawlers. Additionally, aquaculture entrepreneurs farming and shipping what’s termed in Mandarin as “blue crab” have expanded their operations, and were lauded this week by media in their home port city of Ningbo for an operation to farm and ship more of the blue and the soft-shelled crab to China. The business owners, Liu Sheng and Chen Gang, ship from Madagascar to satisfy Chinese demand in winter and spring periods, according to the Ningbo Daily which also referenced lower labor costs and the “pristine environment” found in Madagascar.
However, Chinese involvement in the country’s fishing industry has run up against growing opposition. Almost 18,000 people have as of this week signed an online petition demanding that Madagascar’s fisheries minister repeal the access deal with Taihe Century, claiming it will lead to overfishing and ecological degradation. The online petition will remain open for another month.
Photo courtesy of Dietmar Temps/Shutterstock
