Political Quotes

“the catfish industry in the United States is being victimized by a fish product from Vietnam that is labeled as farm-raised catfish. Since 1997, the volume of Vietnamese frozen fish filets has increased from 500,000 pounds to over 7 million pounds per year. U.S. catfish farm production, which is located primarily in Mississippi, Arkansas, Alabama, and Louisiana, accounts for 50 percent of the total value of all U.S. aquaculture production. Catfish farmers in the Mississippi Delta region have spent $50 million to establish a market for North American catfish. The Vietnamese fish industry is penetrating the United States fish market by falsely labeling fish products to create the impression they are farm-raised catfish. The Vietnamese 'basa' fish that are being imported from Vietnam are grown in cages along the Mekong River Delta. Unlike other imported fish, basa fish are imported as an intended substitute for U.S. farm-raised catfish, and in some instances, their product packaging imitates U.S. brands and logos. This false labeling of Vietnamese basa fish is misleading American consumers at supermarkets and restaurants. According to a taxonomy analysis from the National Warmwater Aquaculture Center, the Vietnamese basa fish is not even of the same family or species as the North American channel catfish.”