The European Commission has launched a “call for evidence” to shape the Ocean Act, to be implemented by next year. On January 12, the Commission invited citizens, experts, and stakeholders to submit their comments by February 9.

The Act is part of the European Ocean Pact, adopted in June last year at the UN Ocean Conference, which is a comprehensive strategy to protect tuna and other fish stocks in all oceans, promote a thriving blue economy, and support the well-being of people living in coastal areas. The EU said in a statement that “The Ocean Act is one of the main deliverables of this Pact. Its objective is to improve the coherence and effective implementation of maritime governance in the EU, serving as a single point of reference for all economic, climate, environmental, and social targets adopted at the Union level to protect and sustainably use ocean resources and services.” The results of the public consultation for the Ocean Act will be published in Spring 2026. The legislative proposal, which would support the priorities of the Ocean Pact and facilitate their implementation, is expected to be adopted at the end of 2026.

The StarKist cannery in American Samoa kicked off its operations for 2026 after a two-week pause in December for its annual holidays. The cannery is expected to produce 450 M/T per day, another 10 M/T more compared to last year’s daily production.

The plant witnessed “one of its highest worker turnouts” when production began last week, reported news site Talanei. A majority of the workforce, as usual, arrived from neighboring Samoa. A spokesperson for the company said that currently, StarKist has about 1,700 workers, which would reach 2,000 by the end of this week. Last month, Injoo Ha, President of the cannery, met with Samoa’s Prime Minister Laaulialemalietoa Leuatea Schmidt, to rope in at least 300 workers from the neighboring island nation. StarKist also stated that it has taken an initiative to build two new housing facilities for the guest workers.

Ecuadorian-flagged purse seiner, ‘Don Igilio’, sank in the wee hours of Friday, January 9, off the coast of Peru after being destroyed by a fire. All 25 crew members were rescued by a gillnetter ‘Yolanda’ flagged to Chile, that was operating nearby. Authorities are investigating the reason for the fire. Ecuador thanked the crew members of ‘Yolanda’ for their timely intervention. The survivors who were transferred to a Peruvian port will be brought to Manta in the coming days. A spokesperson for the Ecuadorian fishing industry said that it is a difficult situation, “but the men are safe and well,” reported Spanish news sites.

‘Don Igilio,’ built in 1987 is a 69-meter-long, seiner with a 1,014 gross tonnage and a fish hold capacity of 1,265 tons. It is registered under its owner, Manta-based Elvayka Kyoei, S.A. which belongs to the Eurofish. ‘Don Igilio’ and ‘Yolanda’ are listed under the IATTC vessel registry. The purse seiner is part of the Tunacons fishery that holds an MSC certification for EPO skipjack and yellowfin catches.