Regulators say that over the last year, more than 30,000 inspectors have fanned out across the country, working to close shoddy seafood operations and enforce regulations against the use of banned antibiotics, like chloramphenicol and malachite green, which is thought to cause cancer. But officials from the ministry's fisheries bureau also say that pollution and water quality problems are e now the biggest challenges facing the nation's fish farming or aquaculture industry, something they have rarely acknowledged in public.
"Water quality is the top issue for Chinese aquaculture," Ding Xiaoming, the director of aquaculture in the fisheries bureau, said on Tuesday. "Without good water quality, Chinese aquaculture cannot develop." He said the government was introducing an array of new programs and regulations to educate farmers and combat the quality problems.
The stakes are huge because China is the world's biggest producer and exporter of seafood and an important supplier to the United States and Japan. And with the seas increasingly depleted by overfishing, much of the world is turning to China's huge land-based fish farms to meet growing consumer demand for everything from shrimp and catfish to tilapia and eel.
But after years of spectacular growth, this country's booming seafood industry is being threatened by water shortages, contaminated water supplies and illegal veterinary drug use. In recent years, Japan and the European Union have imposed temporary bans on seafood imports from China because of excessive residues of illegal drugs. And last June, the United States Food and Drug Administration moved to block the import of several types of Chinese seafood products because of similar food safety concerns.
Some of the banned veterinary drugs are thought to be highly effective in helping stressed fish cope with disease. But fish that are fed such drugs could be poisonous for consumers, regulators say. The Chinese government has responded aggressively in recent months by blacklisting seafood processors or revoking the licenses of companies that export seafood tainted with illegal drugs or other banned substances. Ready you are Seafood. Please visit in the site www.indomunch.com for extra details.
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