After the closure of the fishing season in July due to overrunning the expected catch numbers, the exact remaining Atlantic bigeye quota was set at 2,226.8 M/T, as published in the...
Fishing
High Numbers of dFADs Ending Up In WCPO As Ghost Gear
What happens to dFADs that fishing companies put out to catch their tuna? A very recent SPC study gives an idea of the fate of these gadgets and the numbers give a somber...
Increasing dFAD Density In High Seas Bordering PNA
There is a growing drifting FAD (dFAD) density in the high seas pockets between PNG, the Solomon Islands, Nauru, Kiribati Gilbert Islands, and Tuvalu EEZ, according to the latest SPC study of...
FFA’s Ambitious Tuna Economic Goals Largely Fulfilled By PNA
In 2015, leaders of the countries that are part of the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) adopted a set of goals, indicators, and strategies to be attained over the next five...
EU And Seychelles To Continue Fisheries Talks In Brussels
EU and the Seychelles are getting ready for the next round of discussions on an essential fishing deal, which will take place in two weeks in Brussels, Belgium. Yesterday,...
Seychelles Starts Talks With EU On Largest Tuna License Deal
On Monday, Seychelles and the EU opened talks on the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement and Protocol, which allows EU vessels to fish in the waters of the island...
Number Of Chinese EU Approved Vessels Doubles
At least 13.5 percent of the total registered Chinese fishing vessels in the country have obtained EU registration status. This is reflected in the latest list of Chinese...
Madeiran Pole & Liner Sunk By High Waves
The pole-and-line vessel Setemar sank after it was hit by two waves of four to five meters in height when it was fishing for tuna 12 miles from Ponta do Pargo, west of Madeira. The...
Some FAD Buoys Are Drifting And Active For 2 Years
Drifting FADs (dFADs) could be at sea from less than 10 days and up to two years, according to the latest SPC study. This data was based on the research of the...
FFA’s DG: “Protect Rights Over Resources In The High Seas”
The 2019 Pacific Islands Leaders Forum summit in Tuvalu concluded last week. The Director-General of the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA), Dr. Manu Tupou Roosen, spoke...
Tuna Income To Change Kiribati Budget And Development Status
There will be no major impact on the economy of Kiribati when the island nation graduates from its Least Developed Country (LDC) status, according to the latest entry on Devpolicy blog....
NZ Aircraft Remarkable Encounter Saves 18 Fishermen
What are the chances that an aircraft comes across a burning vessel during a routine patrol in a vast oceanic region and manages to help rescue everyone? Apparently, there is a...
More FADs Are Geo-fenced, Fishers Trying To Obscure Data
Fishing companies are geo-fencing their FADs in the PNA Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) according to a recent report. From 2016 to 2019, operators blocked the transmission data from being...
PNA’s Tracking Program Shows Where Most FADs Are Deployed
The latest SPC study has revealed that an estimated 30,700 to 64,900 artificial FADs were deployed annually in the Western Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO) in 2016 and 2017. The...
NGOs To WCPFC Scientific Committee: Fix Target Reference Points
Harvest control rules and Target Reference Points (TRPs) for yellowfin and bigeye are some of the issues that NGOs want the Scientific Committee (SC) of the WCPFC to take note during...
WCPO Pole-And-Liners Landed More After Lowest Year Ever
The pole-and-line catches in the WCPO region improved in 2018 to an estimated 170,038 M/T. This was a slight increase from 2017, when the lowest catch since the mid-1960s...
Spanish Vessels Benefit Most from EU’s Third Country Deals
Out of all the EU countries, Spain benefits the most from the economic bloc's fishing agreements with ‘Third Countries’. At least 250 vessels have licenses related to the...
Japan’s Skipjack Season “Screwed Up”
Climate change is affecting the Japanese supply of staple fish, driving up prices for some of the favorite seafood of the locals. Skipjack is among those affected species. Between January...
Coast Guard Rescues 37 From Sinking Ecuadorian Seiner
Last week, an Ecuadorian tuna purse seiner sank at approximately 336 nautical miles southeast of Clipperton Island in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. The US Coast Guard (USCG) rescued 25 crewmen...
No Confirmation On Chinese Seiners Deal In PNG Waters
An article by Seafood Source noted that a delegation led by governor Nakikus Konga from PNG’s province of East New Great Britain, traveled to southern China last year to meet with...