IN BRIEF - Tuvalu changes PM, adds to concerns over backing for Taiwan in Pacific
TAIWAN
Friday, September 20, 2019
Parliament in the tiny South Pacific country of Tuvalu elected a new prime minister on Thursday, making a change that analysts say could give China a chance to further undermine Taiwan in a region that has been a pillar of support.
The surprise change in Tuvalu has lengthened the shadow over Taiwan’s standing in the South Pacific after the Solomon Islands earlier this week cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan, leaving it holding formal relations with just 16 countries.
Having retained his seat at a general election earlier this month, Tuvalu’s pro-Taiwan leader Enele Sopoaga had been expected to keep the premiership, but the 16-person parliament instead selected Kausea Natano, whose position on Taiwan was not immediately known.
The cross-border initiative, funded by European Interreg POCTEP funds until 2028, will combat the aging workforce by promoting employment, digitalization, and equality in Galicia, Andalusia, and Portugal.
VIGO – Spain and Portugal have launched the European project MUDARPESCA, a strategic cross-border cooperation alliance designed to attract young people to the seafood sector and ensure generational renewal. Co-financed by the Interreg POCTEP 2021-2027 program through the ERDF fund, the initiative will run until February 2028 to revitalize the economies of Galicia, Andalusia, and the Portuguese coast—regions heavily affected by the lack of young labor and a general lack of social awareness regarding maritime professions.
The project, led by the Shipowners Cooperative of the Port of Vigo (ARVI), includes the creation of a digital platform to connect companies with job seekers, awareness campaigns in educational centers, and strategic recommendations for the sustainability of the blue economy. Key stakeholders participating in the consortium include Sinerxia, FOR-MAR, OPP Lonja de Conil, the Xunta de Galicia, the Portuguese DGRM, Docapesca, and FECOPESCA, among other entities.
The European Commission has published a new study on reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Europe's aquaculture sector. It offers a set of potential pathways to achieve climate neutrality by 2050 and concludes with concrete policy recommendations, including investment in research into new feed raw materials and improvements to EU aquaculture policy.
One of the recommendations focuses on boosting energy efficiency and digitalization, both for the opportunities it offers to save costs and emissions, and for the implementation of artificial intelligence-based technologies that offer promising solutions for reducing GHG emissions, both at the farm level and by predicting ecosystem changes that negatively impact producers.
Source: iPac.aquacultura | Read the full article here
A Nordic Council report advocates combining education, availability, price, and consumer information to incorporate more fish and seafood into the diet
Increasing seafood consumption in Nordic countries requires public policies capable of influencing consumer habits, motivation, and real choices. This is the argument put forward in the Nordic Aquatic Food Systems report by the Nordic Council of Ministers, which analyzes the necessary measures to strengthen the presence of fish, seafood, and other aquatic products in a healthy and sustainable diet.
The document starts from a central idea: simply informing the public about the nutritional benefits of fish is not enough.
ASC responds to U.S. Senate Inquiry, highlighting transparent and independent assurance of the ASC Programme. Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) has responded to the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labour and Pensions (HELP) Committee, outlining the robustness of its certification system, which is built on stringent standards, independent third-party audits, full supply chain traceability, and public transparency to provide credible assurance for certified seafood products. ASC-certified products are available in markets worldwide, including the United States, which is a strongly growing market for ASC, and provide assurance to retailers and consumers that seafood has been produced in accordance with ASC requirements.
Inverlussa Marine Services has signed contracts for three new hybrid vessels in a fleet expansion programme that will increase its fleet to 25 vessels when the ships are delivered in summer 2027.
The Scottish aquaculture support company has ordered a 20-metre by 12-metre heavy service catamaran from Macduff Shipyards, a 25-metre by 10.6-metre heavy service vessel from Nauplius Workboats, and a 27-metre by 11-metre fish feed carrier with a 400-tonne hold capacity from Parkol Marine Engineering.
All three vessels have been designed by Macduff Ship Design and will be equipped with battery-hybrid propulsion systems and IMO Tier III engines aimed at reducing emissions and improving fuel efficiency.
Source: SalmonBusiness | Read the full article here
With the 2026 FIFA World Cup soccer competition kicking off in the U.S., viewers on the West Coast can watch matches from the water in Elliott Bay, Seattle, U.S.A., aboard a floating soccer pitch.
The Seattle Sounders and Reign FC soccer teams launched the floating festival next to Pier 62 on a repurposed commercial fish container barge with an LED screen, a small soccer pitch, live programming, fan events, cultural programming, watch parties, and community soccer activities for the duration of the tournament.
The commercial fish container barge, which until recently was a working maritime vessel that carried containers of fish from Alaska and Hawaii, arrived to Seattle’s waterfront guided by the Ocean Navigator tugboat,
Author: Haley Jones / SeafoodSource | Read the full article here
Chilean fisheries and aquaculture exports reached a value of US$1,870.4 million in February 2026, registering a 12.1% increase compared to the same period of the previous year and placing them 33.9% above the average observed during the five-year period 2021-2025, according to the latest Sector Report prepared and published by the Undersecretariat of Fisheries and Aquaculture (Subpesca).
In terms of volume, shipments totaled 398,900 tons, a figure that represents a 21% increase compared to 2025 and a 49.5% increase compared to the average of the last five years, reflecting the strengthening of the presence of Chilean seafood products in international markets.
Source: MundoAcuicola | Read the full article here
Coastal El Niño Continues to Put Pressure on a Strategic Fishery for Marine Ingredients Used in Animal Feed and Aquaculture
Peru has extended the suspension of anchovy fishing in a large area of ??its north-central coast due to the persistence of conditions associated with the coastal El Niño phenomenon. The measure, which was set to expire on June 10, 2026, will remain in effect indefinitely.
The ban affects the maritime area extending from the northern limit of Peru's maritime domain to 16°00′S.
The cod fishing fleet welcomes the fact that the European Commission is finally "consistent with its words," although the new measures could generate "a supply problem."
As its name indicates, the Melkart-5 is the fifth vessel in the large family of trawlers belonging to the Russian fishing company Murman Sea Food, one of the most important firms in the sector in the country, operating from the port of Murmansk, Russia's largest in the Arctic. The company was sanctioned in May 2015 by the Council of the European Union along with Norebo JSC, another long-established player in the nation's fishing industry. Both allegedly collaborated with the Kremlin by sponsoring various "destabilizing activities" against the EU27. Acting as a kind of undercover agent, they were caught red-handed amid escalating tensions between the two powers, three years after the outbreak of war in Ukraine.
Author: Jorge Garnelo / Faro de Vigo | Read the full article here
The Coalition for Fisheries Transparency (CFT) has called on parliamentarians to place fisheries transparency at the centre of efforts to build a sustainable future for the UK fishing industry.
The call comes amid concerns over declining fish stocks and continued illegal fishing activity. According to the coalition, 35% of global fish stocks are fished unsustainably, while half of the UK’s ten most important fish stocks are either critically low, overexploited or both.
The coalition says implementing the Global Charter would promote transparent, equitable and well-governed fisheries while helping eliminate harmful fishing practices, labour abuses and illegal activity across global seafood supply chains.
TAIWAN
SPAIN
EUROPEAN UNION
The European Commission has published a new study on reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Europe's aquaculture sector. It offers a set of potential pathways to achieve climate neutrality by 2050 and concludes with concrete policy recommendations, including investment in research into new feed raw materials and improvements to EU aquaculture policy.
NORWAY
A Nordic Council report advocates combining education, availability, price, and consumer information to incorporate more fish and seafood into the diet
UNITED STATES.png)
ASC
UNITED KINGDOM.png)
The Scottish aquaculture support company has ordered a 20-metre by 12-metre heavy service catamaran from Macduff Shipyards, a 25-metre by 10.6-metre heavy service vessel from Nauplius Workboats, and a 27-metre by 11-metre fish feed carrier with a 400-tonne hold capacity from Parkol Marine Engineering.
With the 2026 FIFA World Cup soccer competition kicking off in the U.S., viewers on the West Coast can watch matches from the water in Elliott Bay, Seattle, U.S.A., aboard a floating soccer pitch.
CHILE
Chilean fisheries and aquaculture exports reached a value of US$1,870.4 million in February 2026, registering a 12.1% increase compared to the same period of the previous year and placing them 33.9% above the average observed during the five-year period 2021-2025, according to the latest Sector Report prepared and published by the Undersecretariat of Fisheries and Aquaculture 
PERU
Coastal El Niño Continues to Put Pressure on a Strategic Fishery for Marine Ingredients Used in Animal Feed and Aquaculture.png)
As its name indicates, the Melkart-5 is the fifth vessel in the large family of trawlers belonging to the Russian fishing company Murman Sea Food, one of the most important firms in the sector in the country, operating from the port of Murmansk, Russia's largest in the Arctic. The company was sanctioned in May 2015 by the Council of the European Union along with Norebo JSC, another long-established player in the nation's fishing industry. Both allegedly collaborated with the Kremlin by sponsoring various "destabilizing activities" against the EU27. Acting as a kind of undercover agent, they were caught red-handed amid escalating tensions between the two powers, three years after the outbreak of war in Ukraine..png)
The call comes amid concerns over declining fish stocks and continued illegal fishing activity. According to the coalition, 35% of global fish stocks are fished unsustainably, while half of the UK’s ten most important fish stocks are either critically low, overexploited or both.
