Global tuna catches in 2020 were down mainly due to an 11 percent volume drop from the WCPO area. This was the result of lower purse seine skipjack landings as well as pole-and-line and...
Tuna Fishing News
Seychelles Combats IUU With High Fine For Sri Lankan Captain
Seychelles Supreme Court has fined the captain of a Sri Lankan-flagged longliner USD 167,000 for fishing in the nation’s waters without a license. On June 1, Mahalingam Kanapathi was arrested...
FADs For Super Seiners Cause Of IATTC Failure
The IATTC meeting finished last week and members did not manage to see eye-to-eye on new conservation measures for tropical tuna in the EPO. However, multiple sources that attended the meeting...
Major Global Tuna Highlights August
A lot happened in the tuna industry in the month of August. Prices of skipjack raw material increased in major trading hubs. IATTC’s meeting failed to reach a consensus for tuna stock measures...
Accused In Tuna Bonds Scandal Says He “Was Just A Facilitator”
The saga of the tuna bonds scandal in Mozambique continues as more details regarding embezzlement and money laundering among government officials and other related parties came to light during...
2020 Global Tuna Catches Down Six Percent
Overall tuna catches across the world fell in 2020 caused by a lower take from the biggest tuna fishing area, the WCPO. Disruptions in fishing operations due to COVID can be partly attributed...
IATTC Deal On FAD Reduction Blocked By Spanish Interests
IATTC members have once again failed to agree on conservation measures for tropical tuna in the EPO. The RFMO’s annual online meeting, which came to an end last Friday, represented the third...
Skipjack Catches Suspended From A Mexican Purse Seine MSC Certification
Part of the MSC certification of a Mexican tuna purse seine fishery has been suspended. Additionally, the same organization was recently denied a variation request that asked for more time to...
Indian Ocean Carriers Moving Skipjack To Ecuadorian Canners
The tuna catches in the Indian Ocean remain at the normal level expected in August and the inventory level of canneries in the region can be defined as moderate. Until recently, there has not...
ISSF: Support Vessels Should Also Have Onboard Observer Coverage
Purse seiners often utilize support vessels, also called auxiliary, supply, or tender, and they help to increase fishing efficiency and contribute to effort creep. However, there is a need to...
Seiner Chief Officer Turns YouTuber While 27 Months Onboard
Korean Kim Hyun-Moo has been on board for 27 months as Chief Officer on a tuna vessel owned by Sajo Group. The 27-year-old boarded the seiner in May 2019 without knowing it would be his home...
Marshall Islands Vaccinated 132 Tuna Sailors In One Day
Marshall Islands has officially reinstalled its vaccination program for tuna fishermen. From now on, all Fridays will be reserved for commercial sailors to get their jabs, informed the...
Thai Union’s New Tuna Commitment Leaning On FIPs, Despite High MSC Availability
Thai Union (TU) recently released a Tuna Commitment 2021 progress report which gives an overview of its next stage of work in terms of responsible tuna sourcing by 2025 and how its...
Will IATTC End Meeting Without Conservation Measures Again?
IATTC members are currently debating tropical tuna conservation measures for the period 2022-2024. While they had a fairly hopeful feeling going into this week’s meeting after the...
High Risk Piracy Areas In IO Reduced
Less piracy in the Indian Ocean (IO) has resulted in changes regarding the geographic boundaries of the waters considered High Risk Areas (HRA). Starting September 1, the HRA borders to the...
India: Poor Fishers Should Not Bear Responsibility For IO Yellowfin Decline
India has officially objected to the quota cuts in the newest IOTC yellowfin rebuilding plan adopted during the annual meeting in June. The country pointed out that large-scale industrial...
Tuna Vessel Crew Rescues Migrants From Sinking Inflatable
On Sunday, crew from the Malta-flagged tuna longliner ‘Ave María II’ managed to rescue six migrants who had jumped into the water from a sinking inflatable with 60 people on board. The asylum...
No End In Sight To High Freight Costs For Tuna Sector
Freight costs have been higher than ever since COVID-19 started pushing shipping expenses up from late last year. Currently, pandemic-induced shutdowns in some of the world’s busiest ports,...
ISSF Wants IATTC To Set Extra FAD Management Measures
Yesterday, the annual IATTC session started via videoconference. Members of the RFMO are trying to agree on conservation measures for tropical tuna for the next three years. Ahead of the...
Tuna, An Inspiration For Future Underwater Vehicles?
A team from an American university has created a new tuna robot that could inspire future underwater vehicles. Although other similar tunabots have been created in the last couple of years,...