The Maltese Fisheries Information Integrated System (FIIS) was launched last week. FIIS, a national digital platform developed for Malta to integrate 100 percent of its tuna and other fisheries activities and data into one unified system, was designed and developed by Spanish technology firm Satlink. The introduction of FIIS will “formally mark the start of a national project that sets a new European standard for digital fisheries management,” read a Satlink statement. Malta is home to several bluefin fattening farms that operate in the Atlantic Ocean and vessels that catch the fish here.

Maltese fisheries officials and Satlink executives, who attended the launch, stated that FIIS will make Malta the “European country to operate a fully integrated national fisheries management ecosystem, where monitoring, scientific reporting, administrative processes, market supervision, and stakeholder engagement operate within one coordinated system.” Currently, the system will support over 800 commercial vessels and 2,000 recreational boats. The FIIS is being developed in alignment with the European regulatory framework, including the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), the ICCAT obligations to manage, monitor, and report on the fishing of tuna and tuna-like species in the Atlantic Ocean, and the EU data protection standards, stated Satlink.

The European Tuna Conference will be held on April 20 in Barcelona. Session II will focus on traceability and import reporting in the European tuna supply chain. To register and receive an early bird discount, see this link. 

Malaysian officials seized thousands of dollars’ worth canned tuna shipment this week that entered the nation from Vietnam sans valid permits. The cargo weighed over 15,000 kg with a sales value of MYR 219,420 (USD 56,230).

A spokesperson for the Malaysian Border Control and Protection Agency (MCBA), which carried out the operation, stated that the products illegally entered the nation without permission from the Malaysian Quarantine and Inspection Services Department (Maqis), a federal agency that enforce biosecurity, quarantine and safety checks on fish and animal products. The seizure was a preventive measure to control the risk of animal diseases and to ensure food safety, and to determine that public health standards are upheld, reported New Straits Times.