All purse seiners in the EPO area can now go back to sea to resume their fishing activities. Around half of these vessels were at port for the last 72 days as part of the mandatory IATTC fishing closure. The latest one ended on January 19.

The next veda in the EPO will start on July 29, 2022, and will take place until October 8. This year, as stated in the latest IATTC resolution, vessels could endure a slightly longer period of inactivity if their average bigeye catches between 2017 to 2019 were above 1,200 M/T. These seiners will have to take an extra eight days of veda.

Fishermen currently offloading in the Khanh Hoa province in Vietnam have welcomed tuna prices which are close to the levels of a few months ago. This comes after it was reported that in the last week of December, boat owners in this region were losing money due to the poor fishing trips and low yellowfin prices.

A Vietnamese sailor explained that fishing has improved and that his vessel has been able to meet the demand of his trading partners, reported Vietnam Plus. Most tuna fishing boats have arrived at port with catches amounting between 1.5 to two tons of fish. The price is currently at VND 140,000 (USD 6.15) per kilogram, which leaves profits for vessel owners.

John Connelly, the President of the US National Fisheries Institute (NFI), will be retiring in February 2023. He recently discussed his intention with the organization’s Board of Directors. Connelly started serving in his role in February 2003. Before this, he was the Vice President of the American Chemistry Council, a trade association with more than 200 members in the chemical sector.

On Tuesday, Connelly said in a press statement that he very much appreciates “working with member company leaders and an excellent and dedicated staff in creating the strong foundation on which NFI can build.” Kim Gorton, President and CEO of Slade Gorton and Company, will lead the search committee to look for the right successor.