For the past eight years, IUU fishing activities in the tuna-rich Pacific Ocean have been closely monitored by New Zealand, Australia, and France through ‘Operation Nasse’. When authorities...
Tuna Fishing News
IATTC Members Express Concern As EPO FAD Sets Reach Peak
Tackling the issue of the ever-increasing number of FADs in the EPO is one of the major discussions in the currently ongoing IATTC annual meeting in Canada. Scientific data shows that the...
Vanuatu Introduces VDS For Seiners In Its EEZ
The Vanuatu government's coffers will soon benefit now that the island nation can charge purse seiners and longliners licensing fees to fish in its waters under the Vessel Day Scheme (VDS). It...
Mozambique Reduces Seiner License Fee To Attract Foreign Vessels
The Mozambican government has drastically reduced tuna fishing license fees for foreign-flagged seiners and longliners fishing in its EEZ to less than half of the 2018 rates. The new...
Low Demand Prevents Poor Catches Driving Up BKK Skipjack Price
A relative balance between supply and demand – both being low – is keeping the entire Bangkok skipjack market almost level with only slight movement in the trading prices for frozen...
Costa Rican Govt Sells USD 1.2 Mln Tuna Quota
Costa Rica has licensed three foreign-flagged purse seiners to fish in its waters, and in return, receives USD 1.2 million destined for the Costa Rican Fisheries and Aquaculture Institute...
US NGO Wants “Unconditional Observer” Status At WCPFC For More Transparency
The WCPFC has two crucial meetings coming up this year – the Technical and Compliance Committee session in September and the annual Commission gathering in December. Newly founded...
Azores Limits Skipjack Landings For Warehouse Modernization
The Azores, an autonomous region of Portugal, is limiting the skipjack (also called bonito regionally) landings due to the “modernization of its Madalena do Pico warehouse.” This is...
Tuna Boat’s Heroic Rescue Of Australian Sailor And Other Social Media Trends
The heartwarming rescue story of a 51-year-old Australian man, Timothy Shaddock, and a stray dog Bella who was with him at sea continues to circulate on social media. Timothy and...
IOTC Allots Higher Yellowfin Catch Limits For Seychelles And China
The yellowfin catch limits for 2023 have been re-estimated after the 27th Session of the IOTC meeting held on July 26. China and Seychelles were allocated an additional 377 M/T and 1,145...
Fishermen In South Indian State Strike Against Illegal Seiner Nets
A group of fishermen from 21 coastal hamlets in the southern state of Tamil Nadu in India are urging the regional government to curb the illegal use of purse seiner nets in its territorial...
Small-Scale Philippines Fishers Pin High Hopes On New FADs
A group of small-scale fishermen in the Philippines Northern Samar region hope to boost their tuna production with new deep-sea tuna fishing nets and FAD sets from the Bureau of Fisheries and...
Global Transshipment Operations Mainly Carried Out By Panama & Taiwan Carriers
Global tuna commissions have strict rules regarding at-sea transshipments but they differ between the RFMOs. A new study says that carriers flagged to a small group of countries are carrying...
Grupomar’s ‘Maria Delia’ Sold After Heroic Rescue
Grupomar announced the sale of its Mexican-flagged seiner ‘Maria Delia’. The vessel has been in the news lately for the heroic rescue in July of Australian shipwrecked sailor Timothy Shaddock...
US Longliner Migrant Crew Keep Fingers Crossed For Visa Permit
Crew members of US-flagged tuna longliners are denied visas to enter the US though they are allowed to work in its fleet. This system has raised the ire of several vessel operators and human...
AGAC Joins Hands With SIOTI To Collect Lost FADs In Seychelles
On Monday, the Seychelles Fishing Authority (SFA), the Sustainable Indian Ocean Tuna Initiative (SIOTI) and the Spanish Association of Tuna Freezers (AGAC) signed a deal to manage drifting...
Major Global Highlights July
July was full of interesting and worrisome news for the global tuna sector. From skipjack supply issues across the globe to Ecuadorian tuna fishery to TUNACONS receiving skipjack MSC...
EU-India To Strengthen Ties In Fisheries Sector
India and the EU have agreed to “engage bilaterally” on several matters in the fisheries sector including tuna. The deal was struck at a recent meeting between the European Commissioner for...
EU Presidency Creates Opportunities For Spanish Tuna Agenda
The EU tuna industry has pointed out many times the disconnect it feels with the EU Brussels administration. The Spanish especially have been vocal about the latest rules and regulations that...
2022 WCPO Yellowfin Seiner Catches Declined By 12%
Overall catches of yellowfin in the world’s largest tuna fishing ground dipped in 2022 driven by a large decline in purse-seine volumes. Last year, the total catches of Thunnus albacares from...