The US tuna fleet could see significant growth, as smaller fishing companies struggle to compete in the WCPO. Speculation is rife that the US fleet could expand through takeovers and...
Fishing
Country Delegations To Tour American Samoa Canneries – South Pacific Tuna Hub
Pacific island nation delegations that are set to attend the upcoming WCPFC meeting, will be making a trip to American Samoa for an ‘open house’. On Friday, the American Samoan government, in...
Tuna Load Confiscated From Longliner With Purse Seine Net
A haul full of allegedly illegal purse seine netting was recently seized in Natal, Brazil, by the Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA). The gear was used by a...
Rare White Southern Bluefin Sold In Japan
Last weekend a rare white pale bluefin was sold on auction in Tokyo’s Tsukiji fish market, much to the amazement of buyers. The waxy looking tuna is a southern bluefin (thunnus maccoyii) with...
Late Canaries Tuna Vessels Return ‘Empty Handed’
A total of 37 Canary Islands fishing vessels returned with hands ‘virtually empty’ from Moroccan waters, claiming that the licenses they were issued to fish there were awarded too late in the...
Maldives Penalizes Longliner For Intrusion
A Maldivian longline vessel has been fined by the authorities for setting its line not only within the economic boundaries, where it is illegal to use this gear, but also against longlining...
PNG Confident In Not Getting An EU Red Card
Confidence is high among the PNG officials, that current IUU sanctions will not be intensified by the EU, and the nation will not receive a red card. How can they be so sure? According to The...
Manta Rays: How Can Tuna Fisheries Help Reduce Mortality?
Several mobula rays and manta rays are listed under ‘vulnerable’ or ‘endangered’ on the IUCN red list, which means that they are the route towards extinction. Mantatrust.orgsays there are a...
Potential Mexican MSC Yellowfin Certification Covers USD 300 Million
As five companies that represent more than 95 percent of the Mexican yellowfin and skipjack fishery enter into full MSC assessment, a value has been put on the catch that could potentially...
40 EU Vessels Deal With Guinea Bissau Highly Paid?
In a three year agreement to allow up to 40 EU vessels to operate in the EEZ of Guinea Bissau, the European Union, in return, will be contributing EUR 9.2 million (USD 11.5 million) annually...
PMIZ Mega Tuna Industrial Zone Project To Be Revived
Plans for the Pacific Marine Industrial Zone (PMIZ) project for PNG could be back on track, as the final designs are set to go before the National Executive Council by next March. In fact, the...
Budget Cuts Leave Spanish Sailors Out Of Touch
Crew members aboard Spanish fishing vessels will now have to do without radio broadcasts as an unexpected decision from the Spanish Radio and Television Corporation (RTVE) is set to eliminate...
ISSF Promotes Total WCPFC Tuna Closure
Is a total closure of the WCPFC tuna fishery the only way to control the decline of bigeye tuna stocks in the region? It seems that ISSF believes it could be the most simple. As the Commission...
Atlantic Tuna Nations And ISSF Start Cooperation
A partnership based on the promotion of sustainable tuna fishing off the West African coasts has been sealed between the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) and the...
Operation To Protect Seiners Against Pirates Extended
This weekend, the European Union decided to extend its counter-piracy program, ‘Operation Atalanta’, off the coast of Somalia by a further two years. The operations, which focus on deterring,...
Loopholes Found In Korea’s Distant Fisheries Act
The Korean government is under significant pressure as loopholes are identified in the nation’s Distant Water Fisheries Act. The country is now being urged to clean up the management of...
“How Can We Trust The WCPFC If It Fails On Bigeye?”
If the WCPFC can’t get it right on bigeye, then how can we trust that the rest of the WCPO tuna fishery can be well managed? According to an ISSF and WWF blogpost, that’s what many in the...
Do Acoustic Tags Turn Tunas Into A ‘Happy Meal’?
Recent press has pointed towards the possibility of acoustic tagged tunas becoming another fish’s meal, because they are bleeping or flashing and attracting attention. The theory put forward...
Why Sri Lanka Had To Attract Foreign Fleet Operators
Sri Lanka’s Fisheries Minister believes that the arrival of large foreign vessels is the crux of the problems with the EU, and ultimately led to the nation’s red card on IUU, a sanction that...
High Grade Biodegradable Purse Seine Nets – Is It Possible?
An environmentally improved purse seine net lined with a biodegradable additive and radio frequency identification chips has been developed in the hope of reducing ‘ghost fishing’. Ghost...