The European Commission (EC) continues to lend a helping hand to the fishery and aquaculture sectors, just like it did in the first stages of the crisis. As European countries are starting to slowly re-open after several months of being halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, further action is required to ensure that this short-term disruption will not lead to long-term socio-economic damages, said the EC.

Thus, its second phase of action supports the improvement of the sectors and looks to make them more resilient to future crises. The recovery plan includes the strengthening of the post-2020 European Maritime Fisheries Fund with an additional EUR 500 million.

New Zealand’s Economic Development Minister Phil Twyford came under fire today for refusing to provide an exemption for a US-flagged tuna seiner, 'Capt Vincent Gann' to undergo repairs in a Nelson shipyard. The marine engineering company Aimex said that the vessel has been at sea for weeks in the EPO, its last port of call was American Samoa where there are no COVID-19 cases; thus it poses no coronavirus risk to the country.

Detractors have also said that the government has given exemptions for glamour industries like the filmmakers of Avatar but refuses to budge on this issue. Officials advised that the boat should be sent to Hawaii for the repairs. A spokesperson for Minister Twyford said that he has not declined any applications that have reached his desk.

Control Union Pesca (CU Pesca) has published the final report for the MSC certification of the Dongwong Pacific longliner fishery, which involves bigeye, yellowfin, as well as South and North Pacific albacore. The certification body has recommended that the fishery obtain the well-recognized sustainable logo.

Previously, Atuna reported that CU Pesca considered that while the Unit of Assessment involving the stocks in the WCPO met the required standards, those in the EPO did not. Due to this, all the EPO stocks were removed from assessment and are not part of the final recommendation. In total, the certification involves 11 Korean-flagged longliners owned by Dongwon.