There has been little fishing on blue whiting grounds in the Faroese EEZ over the last few days as fishing has dropped away. Síldarvinnslan’s two pelagic vessels Beitir and Börkur have been searching north of the Faroes with limited success.
The EU Commission must ensure that fisheries and aquaculture products from non-EU countries comply with EU conservation, management standards and hygiene requirements. MEPs voted overwhelmingly with 590 votes to 52 with 41 abstentions for control measures to be applied more efficiently, with imported products subject to the same standards as EU produce.
The European Commission is proposing improvements to modernise and simplify the way in which fishing rules are monitored and complied with in the EU, stating that effective control is key to ensuring that the EU's fisheries are sustainably managed, in turn guaranteeing the long-term viability of EU fisheries.
The partly-outfitted trawler Ora et Labora has been launched by Szczecin yard PTS for delivery to Vestvaerftet in Denmark.
NOAA Fisheries is implementing new management measures for Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs), reflecting international standards developed through years of negotiations to govern the use of FADs. International standards are designed to monitor and control fishing effort using FADs, reduce entangling marine life, and ensure that FAD use remains sustainable in the long-term.
EU-funded research is developing advanced modelling tools to help assess the full extent of the problem of plastic pollution in the oceans and how it is affecting the marine environment. These tools will help policymakers design targeted measures to address a big and growing issue.
The recent Misery at Sea report published by Greenpeace focuses closely on Taiwan’s distant water fleet, and paints a grim portrait of the country’s shortcomings in this field. The Taiwanese Fisheries Agency (FA) has responded to the Greenpeace allegations, stating that since the Act for Distant Water Fisheries came into law on January 20th, 2017, the management of Taiwanese distant water fishing fleets under this legal framework has received wide and positive recognition.
Ireland’s seafood development agency, Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM), along with Cork Education and Training Board (CETB) have agreed a memorandum of understanding to develop a comprehensive skills and training programme for Ireland’s seafood industry.
Thai Union has released its first annual Tuna Commitment Progress Report to provide a public update on its ambitious strategy to ensure 100% of the company’s branded tuna is sustainably sourced, with a target of achieving a minimum of 75% by 2020, in line with the company’s SeaChange sustainability strategy.
The Hoekman Shipbuilding yard in Urk and the Padmos yard in Stellendam have confirmed that two new twin riggers have been ordered for Dutch owners, to be built on the same lines as the experimental MDV-1 that was built in 2016 for Urk owners.