Cold storage giving Drago Foods an edge during fishing moratorium

Expanded cold storage facilities are giving larger Chinese fishing firms the edge over smaller rivals during the longer Chinese fishing moratorium.

This year, China barred vessels from fishing its coastal waters from May through September, in response to increased attention toward conservation at home. The country’s authorities have also enforced the ban with a new vigor.

As a result, China’s fishing companies have intensified their fishing effort abroad. In African waters, China’s distant-water fleet has usurped the traditional dominance of Spanish vessels, and Chinese firms have gone further, seeking to supply buyers in Spain.

One such company is Drago Foods, which is based in Zhoushan, the country’s leading fisheries port. Seafood catches from its vessels in Africa sent back to cold storage are helping the company hold onto its market share at home, according to company commercial director Qin Fajun.

Drago cooperates with state-owned distant-water specialist China National Fisheries Corp (CNFC) to transport its catches to China from Africa, where it operates 18 vessels, Qin said. 

Qin was interviewed by SeafoodSource at Seafood Expo Asia in Hong Kong, where the firm was seeking buyers for john dory, mahi, and monkfish. The firm is also busy supplying octopus and squid to buyers in Spain, according to Qin. 

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