First MSC certification for China fishery to be announced in Brussels

The first fishery in China to earn Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification will be officially announced at Seafood Expo Global in Brussels next week.

The Zoneco (Dalian Zhangzidao Fishery Group Ltd.) scallop (Patinopecten yessoensis) fishery in the North Yellow Sea, a diving and dredging fishery, earned passing scores from certifying body Intertek Fisheries Certification in February.

The announcement will take place on Wednesday, 22 April at 1:30 p.m. (13:30) at the Cinedoc Room, near Hall 2 at Brussels Expo. The event will be attended by MSC senior executives, Chinese government officials and members of the seafood industry.

The company was the focus of controversy and investor criticism late last year when the firm announced a CNY 800 million (USD 128 million; EUR 112.8 million) loss due to damage to the firm’s scallop-breeding aquaculture operations. The controversy came at an unfortunate time as the firm was celebrating an expensive rebranding process, switching to the more international-sounding name Zoneco.