With El Niño having now reached its peak in the Pacific, expectations are that there is a return to normal conditions on the horizon, but with little knowledge of exactly when this will occur....
Fishing
Is EPO Catch About To Get Even Bigger?
Today marks the end of the IATTC second annual fishery closure, which has seen a two month halt by a significant chunk of the EPO operating seiner fleet. Record catch volumes have been reeled...
Low Carbon Footprint Of FADs A Myth?
A commonly presented advantage of FAD-dependent tuna fishing operations may have been crushed, as recent research reveals an “unexpected relationship” between FAD use and fuel consumption. As...
Will Seiners With Higher Standards Be Pushed Out First?
One of the strong arguments that part of the US fleet has put forward in its non-payment to the US Tuna Treaty is the high cost of fishing access to the EEZs of Pacific Island nations, a...
ATA: Lump Sum Payment Blocks All US Seiners
The US Tuna Treaty must be restructured to become more flexible, not just for the industry and the US fleet, but also for all governments involved. This is the perspective of Brian Hallman,...
This Year’s SKJ Price Prediction
With skipjack prices hovering around the lowest level they’ve been at since at least 2010, the start of a new year can produce some interesting forecasts as to what direction things will take...
The US Tuna Treaty: Who Will Give In First?
Facing a standoff with currently no end in sight, the US tuna fleet remains tied up in port until a solution can be reached regarding the non-payment of Pacific island fishing days that has...
Record Skipjack Catch “The Result Of Indiscriminate Use Of FADs”
Helped along by a record skipjack catch, 2015 EPO total tuna landings have soared to a level never seen before, shooting up a steep 14 percent from the previous year. According to one...
Crude Oil At 12 Year Low: Will Tuna Prices Sink With It?
Oil prices appear to be showing no sign of slowing their descent, as the current market glut has now pushed Brent crude to below USD 30 dollars a barrel for the first time in 12 years, and...
US Seiners Successfully Switch Operations To EPO
For the first time in many years, and under influence of El Niño conditions, the US, as a flag nation is listed again in IATTC catch data, after netting 22,036 tons of tuna in the Eastern...
The Reasons Behind Indonesia’s Tuna Export Growth To The USA
Indonesia’s tough approach to IUU has contributed to an increase in the country’s tuna exports over the last 12 months; that’s according to a researcher who made the statement on Monday this...
FOS: Banning FADs Only Shifts The Problem
Believing that banning FADs or promoting only FAD-free tuna only shifts the problem, Friend of the Sea (FOS) has just introduced new criteria for its certification of tuna fisheries, which...
Which WCP Seiner Fleets Took The Heaviest Blows?
Some of Thailand’s top delivering fleets have suffered the heaviest impacts of falling demand and a large oversupply in the Bangkok market. Not only have import volumes dropped, but the...
What Price Do WCP Tuna Boatowners Really Get?
Carrier transportation costs are on the rise for WCP boatowners, and in some cases are currently representing as much as a quarter of the market price for a ton of skipjack tuna. While the...
Tie-Up Delays SoPac Expanding MSC Catch
With 10 days of tie-up of the US seiner fleet elapsed, the US fishing firm, SoPac, has said that it is no longer able to uphold its intention to provide the market with sustainable free-school...
Thai Whole Round Imports Sink To New Low
A substantial slump in whole round frozen tuna reaching Thailand’s capital has remained prevalent throughout a large chunk of 2015, with the latest data only confirming that Bangkok is still...
Two Dead On Colombian Tuna Vessel
Two crew members have died this weekend after reportedly inhaling toxic gas on board a tuna vessel off the coast of northern Colombia, while a third person involved is said to be critically...
Indonesia To Blow Up 39 More Foreign Boats
The Indonesian government isn’t giving up on its hardline IUU approach, and plans to blow up and sink 12 foreign vessels this month, with a remaining 27 to follow soon. The boats are reported...
US Gov’t Now Insisting Pacific Islands Change Treaty
The US State Department is stepping up to the plate, after plenty of calls from fishing firms, in an attempt to help American tuna vessels which are currently shut out of the tuna-rich...
Massive EPO Skipjack Catch Smashes Record
Without even knowing December’s numbers yet, the annual 2015 skipjack catch recorded for Eastern Pacific waters has already smashed previous yearly volumes, setting a new regional record. From...