The Vietnamese government notes that in 2002 Congress prohibited the Vietnamese species -- generally sold as basa and tra -- from being marketed here as catfish.
The 2002 legislation declared that no fish can be marketed as catfish "unless it is fish classified within the family ictaluridae," which is found in the South. The Vietnamese species come from the pangasiidae family.
The problem, from the Southern perspective: Butchers buy basa and tra and tell customers it's catfish. So do some restaurants. The fish industry has fought back with the help of sympathetic state legislatures: In August, Alabama will join a number of states that require restaurants to inform customers where their catfish comes from.
At issue at the federal level is a little-noticed provision of last year's farm bill that will soon subject catfish, whatever its origin, to a new, more rigorous inspection regimen. The provision was included after Chinese seafood was found in 2007 to include drugs banned in U.S. fish farming.
Critics of the push to reclassify say it amounts to protectionism. Supporters say it will increase food safety.
To the Vietnamese, it's confusing.
"The Vietnamese feel pretty whipsawed here," said Brenda A. Jacobs, a Washington trade lawyer who has advised the Vietnamese government. "They can't call their seafood 'catfish,' but they could be subject to a new inspection requirement that is applicable only to catfish?"
Does this reflect confusion, she asked, or an attempt to undermine fair competition?
Thoan V. Ngo, commercial counselor at the Vietnam Embassy in Washington, said he hoped the Americans "would see this as being less about just the definition of a fish and more about the definition of how the U.S. treats developing countries."
When asked about Vietnam's concerns, Rep. Rodney Alexander (R-La.), said, however, "I'm more concerned about my constituents than I am their constituents."
The specifics of this rather esoteric trade issue are well-known in Humphreys County, where Kiker has his ponds. This desktop-flat stretch of rich Mississippi Delta farmland once proudly produced more catfish than any other U.S. county. Not anymore.
The acres devoted to producing catfish in the county dropped from 29,650 acres in 2001 to 18,400 acres last year.
Though the industry is waning here, the ictaluridae family still holds a place of honor in the county seat of Belzoni, a town of 2,600 with a small catfish museum and brightly painted catfish sculptures that dot the downtown sidewalks.
