Proposed Rollback of Thai Fisheries Reforms Could Carry Human Rights, Economic Consequences

Thailand has moved ahead with a proposed rollback of its fisheries reforms, with a drafting committee in the country expected to approve the changes on 23 June and enforcement likely to follow the next month.

Several organizations have warned the move may allow illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing to proliferate and may negatively affect trade between Thailand and its major trading partners.

Thailand originally instituted changes to its fisheries system after the U.S. Department of State downgraded Thailand to Tier 3 – the lowest rating – in its 2014 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report. The following year, the European Commission issued a yellow card warning to Thailand, indicating shortcomings in combating IUU fishing. Continue reading here (Source: SeafoodSource).

ISSF Published 2023 Annual Report Highlight Collaborative Progress Toward More Sustainable Tuna Fisheries

The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) released its 2023 annual report today, titled Navigating Toward Sustainable Tuna Fisheries, which presents the organization’s accomplishments on the path to more sustainable tuna fisheries — especially through collaboration with tuna vessels, fishers and other partners in the seafood industry.



“Skilled, conscientious fishers in all oceans take proactive steps every day to protect marine life — avoiding overfishing, reducing bycatch and providing data for scientific and compliance reporting — while harvesting their catch. As one indicator of the strides they have made, more than 65 tuna fisheries are certified by the Marine Stewardship Council as meeting its criteria,” Susan Jackson, ISSF President, remarks in the report. “We are grateful to ISSF’s many vessel partners in sustainable fishing — and we celebrate our multi-faceted collaborations with fishers at sea and on shore.”

Continue reading here (Source: International Seafood Sustainability Foundation).

Smart Buoys to Boost Selection in Tuna Fisheries

The Spanish tuna fleet is launching project SelecTuna, a pioneering initiative will deploy more than 1500 smart buoys from tech company Satlink in the three oceans where tropical tuna is caught, with the aim of increasing fishing selectivity. The aim is to focus on the strongest sustainable stocks, steering fishing effort away from more vulnerable stocks.

Under this collaboration agreement between the Organization of Associated Producers of Large-scale Freezer Tuna Vessels (OPAGAC) and Satlink, embedded within the activities and initiatives of OPAGAC’s 2024 Production and Commercialization Plan, the aim is to enhance innovation and improve technology to fine-tune discrimination between tropical tuna species. Continue reading here (Source: FiskerForum).

Global Fishing Watch, SkyTruth Warn of Vessels Falsifying Coordinates

Nonprofit organizations Global Fishing Watch (GFW) and SkyTruth have reported that vessels on the world’s oceans may be using constantly improving technology to falsify and scramble their automatic identification system (AIS) coordinates, potentially carrying out illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing through the use of such technology.

One of the first instances that alerted the organizations to this fact was a Russian-flagged tanker vessel that was found to be broadcasting false AIS coordinates on at least two separate occasions.

According to the organizations, the tanker, Kapitan Schemilkin, transmitted false positions over two distinct periods since the beginning of 2022. Satellite radar imagery failed to detect the vessel at the times and locations deceptively indicated by its AIS broadcasts. Continue reading here (Source: SeafoodSource).

Fagasa Establishes Marine Protected Area

The Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources and the village of Fagasa have signed a cooperative agreement which solidifies the village’s consensus to join the Community-based Fisheries Management Program.

Effective on the date of the agreement signing, June 4th, Fagasa has declared 67,654 square yards of its Fagatele coastal waters for 5 years closure with no fishing activities allowed by village residents and outsiders.

The signing is the culmination of several meetings between DMWR with the village council. Continue reading here (Source: Talanei).

Equitable Fishing Access and Sustainable Practices to be Addressed at Upcoming Council Meeting in Honolulu

As the U.S. exclusive economic zone available to fishing continues to shrink due to federal regulations, foreign fishing presence increases and Pacific Islands bear the brunt of American conservation efforts, justice has seemingly turned into “just us.” Ninety percent of the Biden Administration’s mandate to conserve 30% of the ocean by 2030 is supported by closures in the U.S. Pacific.

The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council will address equitable access, fair treatment of fishing communities and preservation of sustainable fishing at its meeting June 24-26, 2024, in Honolulu. Continue reading here (Source: Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council).

Peruvian Government Implements Anti-IUU Measure

On May 19, news shocked the national fishing sector, revealing the excessive permissiveness with which PRODUCE sanctioned the Chinese vessel, the Tian Xiang, with the ridiculous sum of 250 soles for apparently having fished illegally in the Peruvian sea.

This case, along with other complaints spread by artisanal fishermen on social platforms such as Facebook and Tik Tok, as well as by organizations such as the National Society of Industries and the National Society of Artisanal Fishing of Peru (SONAPESCAL), appear to be the result of possible negligence by the previous efforts of the Ministry of Production (PRODUCE). Continue reading here (Source: Fish Information & Services).

Vietnamese Tuna Exports Expected to Grow by 20% in First-Half of 2024

Tuna exports are projected to reach 456.8 million USD in the first half of 2024, a year-on-year increase of 20%, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

After decreasing in 2023, exports rose by 22% in the first five months of the year to 388 million USD.

Shipments of canned tuna products, bagged tuna and frozen loin/fillet increased by 44%, 24%, and 7%. Exports of frozen whole tuna nearly tripled. Continue reading here (Source: Vietnam+).