Greening China’s Fish and Fish Products Market Supply Chains

This report, produced by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) in partnership with the Ministry of Commerce of China (MOFCOM), analyzes the sustainability of China's fish and fish products market supply chains. Using a Global Commodity Chain Sustainability Analysis (GCCSA) framework, the study examines three specific case studies: tilapia aquaculture, cod reprocessing, and the live reef food fish trade (LRFFT). The report evaluates these chains across ecological, economic, and social dimensions, highlighting China's pivotal role as a global producer, processor, and consumer. It identifies critical challenges including illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, traceability gaps, and environmental degradation, while recommending the adoption of national traceability systems, sustainability certifications, and strategic policy integration with China's Five-Year Plans to ensure long-term sector viability.

• China is the world's leading producer and exporter of tilapia, accounting for 40 per cent of global production in 2008. The industry has seen rapid growth, with production increasing by an annual average of 13.4 per cent over the ten years preceding the report.
• The tilapia supply chain in China is concentrated in southern provinces, with Guangdong, Hainan, Guangxi, and Fujian accounting for approximately 90 per cent of national production. In 2008, total production was 1.11 million tonnes, a 2.1 per cent decrease from 2007, largely due to a severe snowstorm in south China that caused significant fish mortality, particularly in Guangdong.
• Tilapia is considered a lower energy-intensive species compared to other farmed fish. Producing one kilogram of tilapia is estimated to save more than 40 per cent of the energy required for salmon and more than 30 per cent compared to catfish.
• China's cod processing industry primarily relies on imported raw materials from the northeast Pacific, northwest Pacific, northeast Atlantic, and northwest Atlantic. China's processed cod output is estimated to represent 16–19 per cent of the global cod catch.
• Traceability in the cod supply chain is hindered by the use of aggregate commodity codes in China's import and export systems. For example, multiple whitefish species like Alaska pollock, hoki, and redfish may be inconsistently recorded as cod due to a lack of species-specific codes.
• The Live Reef Food Fish Trade (LRFFT) is a high-value market where demand is concentrated in Hong Kong and southern China. The trade is characterized by a "boom-to-bust" pattern, where fish stocks are systematically depleted in one area before the trade moves to new fishing grounds.
• The leopard coralgrouper (Plectropomus leopardus) is a key species in the LRFFT and is listed as "Near Threatened" on the IUCN Red List. It is estimated that 60 per cent of international trade in live reef fish transits through Hong Kong, with about 50 per cent destined for mainland China.
• The LRFFT is plagued by unsustainable practices, including the use of cyanide for capture, which damages coral reefs, and the harvesting of juvenile fish before they can reproduce. Average grouper yields in some areas are estimated at 2 tonnes per km², which is significantly higher than the sustainable estimate of 0.4 tonnes per km².
• China's fisheries and aquaculture sector contributes significantly to the national economy. In 2008, total fisheries output was 520.3 billion RMB, representing 9.4 per cent of the gross output value of agriculture and contributing 1.06 per cent to China's total GDP.
• The report identifies a critical need for a national sustainable fisheries and aquaculture traceability system to combat IUU fishing and ensure the legal provenance of products. Currently, traceability is split between the sanitary system managed by the China Inspection and Quarantine (CIQ) Bureau and the EU catch certificate scheme managed by the Bureau of Fisheries (BOF).

APA

International Institute for Sustainable Development (n.d.). Greening China’s Fish and Fish Products Market Supply Chains. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/greening_china_fish_en.pdf

Chicago

International Institute for Sustainable Development. Greening China’s Fish and Fish Products Market Supply Chains. n.d. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/greening_china_fish_en.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=International Institute for Sustainable Development |title=Greening China’s Fish and Fish Products Market Supply Chains |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/greening_china_fish_en.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{internationalinstituteforsustainabledevelopmentndgreening, author = {{International Institute for Sustainable Development}}, title = {{Greening China’s Fish and Fish Products Market Supply Chains}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/greening_china_fish_en.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }