Latest Fishing News
24-29 November 2021
ISSF: Tuna Stock-Rebuilding Efforts Are Working
Tuna stocks globally are stable, but more needs to be done to improve science-based management at regional fishery management organizations, according to Susan Jackson, the president of the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF), a global coalition of seafood companies, fisheries experts, and scientific and environmental organizations.
The organization, which recently launched iss-foundation.org to showcase its data, has the ultimate goal of helping global tuna fisheries meet sustainability criteria to achieve the Marine Stewardship Council certification. ISSF members include leading tuna firms Bumble Bee, Thai Union, and Starkist, but the organization has no members from China, which is increasingly a key player in tuna fishing, processing, and consumption. Continue reading here (Source: SeafoodSource).
Kiribati PIPA Decision: Scientist Says There’s More Value in Taking Control of Fisheries
The Kiribati government is planning to open up the Phoenix Island Protection area (PIPA) to commercial fishing to boost revenue.
The region, almost the size of California, is a UNESCO World Heritage marine park and one of the largest in the world.
A no-take zone was declared in 2015 to protect the area but now, that decision is being reversed.
Fishing is the island’s major source of wealth but there are also concerns about achieving climate change goals. Continue reading here(Source: Radio New Zealand).
Responsible Fishing Vessel Standard Gaining Traction in Pacific Tuna Fisheries
The Responsible Fishing Vessel Standard (RFVS) is gaining traction in tuna fisheries in the Southwest Pacific, as a Philippines-based company has achieved the standard, while the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) have partnered with the Global Seafood Alliance to adopt the standard in its fishing operations.
The RFVS was first created by U.K. trade body Seafish, and was then transferred to the Global Seafood Assurances program in June 2020, which was soon thereafter merged into the new Global Seafood Alliance. General Santos City, the Philippines-basedRD Fishing is one of 13 fishing companies belonging to the RD Fishing Corporation, operating a dozen purse-seiners in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean and in the waters of the Parties to the Nauru Agreement.
Continue reading here (Source: SeafoodSource).
For the Oceans Foundation Takes Lead for Ocean Conservation for Costa Rica
There is growing international interest in the conservation of the Eastern Tropical Pacific, a vast area of largely thriving but threatened ocean stretching Southwest from Costa Rica’s coast to the Galapagos. Taking a lead is Ecuador whose President Ecuador Guillermo Lasso recently committed to building an international effort, including Costa Rica, to protect a marine biological corridor between the Galapagos Island and the Osa Peninsula.
This ocean corridor linking the Galapagos to Cocos Island and the waters surrounding the Osa Peninsula is a major migratory route for species of whales, sharks and turtles. Along with the Thermal Dome of Costa Rica to the North it is one of the world’s richest and most important ocean regions, neither fully protected nor well managed given the complexity of Pan-American politics over international waters, and the failure to unite often conflicting interests of conservationists and commercial fishing operations. Continue reading here (Source: The Tico Times).
Scientists Meet This Week to Advise WesPac on Fishing Issues
Scientists will meet this week — Nov. 30 to Dec. 2, 2021 — to provide advice and comments to the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council on tropical tuna annual catch limits, American Samoa bottonfish data, and other topics.
The meeting will be held virtually and is open to the public. The full agenda, background documents and instructions for connecting to the meeting and providing oral public comments are available at www.wpcouncil.org/event/142nd-scientific-and-statistical-committee-virtual-meeting. Continue reading here (Source: Samoa News).
WTO Fishing Subsidies Agreement Draft Text Sent to Trade Ministers, Raising Hopes of Deal
A draft text for an agreement on ending harmful fishing subsidies has been handed to ministers convening 30 November to 3 December in Geneva, Switzerland.
Some of the text in the document remains in brackets to denote it requires ministers’ attention at the World Trade Organization’s upcoming 12th Ministerial Conference. Santiago Wills, Colombia’s ambassador to the WTO and the chair of the fisheries subsidies talks, said the current draft “reflects an honest attempt to find a balance in members’ positions and I think it is the most likely way we can build consensus, without undermining our sustainability objective, and successfully conclude more than 20 years of negotiations.” Continue reading here (Source: SeafoodSource).
Japan’s Atlantic Bluefin Quota for 2022 Increases by 257 Tons
Japan’s quota for Atlantic bluefin tuna for 2022 will be increased by 257 tons from a year earlier to a total of 3,483 tons, as per the decision of an intergovernmental fishery organization, the country’s Fisheries Agency said Wednesday.
The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas decided at a recent online meeting to raise the overall catch limit for countries including Japan, deeming that total tuna stocks are recovering.
About 50 countries and regions participated in the virtual conference including Japan, the United States and Canada, as well as the European Union. Continue reading here(Source: The Japan Times).
