A call has been made for the Fijian government to provide incentives for longliners to land their catch in the nation and supply raw material albacore tuna to PAFCO, Fiji’s major processor....
Fishing
Hawaii Longliner Crash Sparks Labor Conditions Concern
The longliner that ran aground off Honolulu, Hawaii, earlier this month is again raising concerns over the safety and conditions for foreign workers who are employed onboard vessels within the...
Ecuador’s Seiners Kept Up Strong Catch During Closure
Seiners flagged to Ecuador continued to land substantial catch volumes during the first EPO closure, the latest data reveals, with strong supply still coming in from part of the fleet. Most...
Bill Introduced To Close US Longline Fleet Legal Loophole
A bill has been introduced to US congress that would close a legal loophole existing in the Hawaiian tuna longline fleet, which has been affecting foreign crew members for years. In late 2016...
Should US Seiners Be Given Access To Other High Seas Areas?
An American Samoa fisheries official suggested the only possible solution to stop the decline in the US purse seine effort in the Western Pacific region is for high seas areas to be opened up...
Most Industry Members Believe Pacific Island Nations Are Being Robbed
Following a debatable standpoint Atuna posed to our readers, the majority of voters disagreed with the possibility that Pacific Island nations could be benefitting from the heavily subsidized...
Why Vietnam’s Yellow Card Doesn’t Concern Major Buyers
Importers in Germany, one of the biggest EU canned tuna markets, aren’t too concerned by the yellow card warning recently handed to Vietnam, despite a significant amount of their supply coming...
Bigeye Stock Improvements Downplayed By ISSF?
Bigeye stocks in both the Eastern and Western Central Pacific have improved in the latest stock assessments by RFMOs, which is now being reflected in the newest State of the Stocks report by...
More Free School Sets Drove Purse Seine Catch Recovery
A significant increase in free school sets made by seiners in the WCPO saw the tonnage of yellowfin landings from the region surge last year. This in turn drove a solid recovery in the total...
China Accused Of Stalling WTO Talks On Fleet Subsidies
China’s offer on curbing government subsidized fishing has been considered as inadequate in talks among major fishing nations. The Asian nation is being said to stall the discussions as a way...
Thailand Traceability System Under EU’s Microscope
Thailand is expecting a visit from an EU delegation later this month to review its system for tracing fisheries products through the supply chain. The leading tuna canning country claims it...
Philippines Inks Partnership To Rebuild Critical Stocks
As 70 percent of the Philippines’ EEZ resource is considered overfished, the government has announced plans to establish vital reforms for the country’s major commercial fisheries. With the...
Vanuatu Brings EMS On Board To Protect Observers
Vanuatu’s Fisheries Department has started trialing Electronic Monitoring Systems (EMS) as a way of overseeing vessel activity. The implementation of the scheme means that observers can stay...
China’s Ocean Family Launches 2 New Seiners
Chinese tuna firm, Zhejiang Ocean Family, the parent company of Ningbo Fengsheng, has added two new purse seine vessels to its fleet this month. Zeng Yue Xiang, the General Manager of Ocean...
Bad Catch Sees Bigeye Replaced With Bluefin In Japan
Substantially higher prices are being paid for bigeye tuna in Japan, caused by a slump in volumes caught in the Pacific Ocean, and the impact is being felt among both buyers and consumers in...
Marquesas Longline Fishery Expansion Protests “Unjustified”
An investor in a fishing project in the Marquesas Islands, a group of volcanic islands in French Polynesia, is defending the establishment of a tuna longline fleet in the archipelago and...
Greenpeace USA Wants Firms To Be “Comprehensively Responsible”
In its latest ranking of US foodservice firms in relation to their sustainable seafood policies, NGO Greenpeace USA states that “flawed” eco-certifications like MSC do not guarantee that a...
US Seiner Fleet “Under Siege” From PNA And WCPFC
The US tuna purse seine fleet has been described as “under siege” from regional groups due to the management of Pacific waters, by an American Samoa fisheries official. As a result, he is...
Concerned IO Canners Push For Extra Derogation From EU
Although the EU has not yet responded to the request, there is a continued push from Mauritius-based tuna canners to gain an enhanced trade benefit with the bloc, considering the supply...
Taiwanese Seiner Detained In Pacific IUU Sweep
A Taiwanese purse seiner has been seized by maritime police and fisheries authorities in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) for suspected IUU fishing. The vessel, which has not been...