In Hawaii an estimated 100,000 pounds of ahi tuna was expected to arrive Wednesday at the fish auction in time for New Year’s Eve celebrations. As long as the fish come in, prices are expected to be about the same as last year, with the best red and...
Written by Rory Moulton
Bluefin tuna weigh up to 1,500 pounds and live for 40 years. Roman legions are said to have subsisted primarily on dried bluefin tuna on conquests throughout their far-flung empire. An increase in global demand for sushi...
Written by Greg Weston
Despite reduced quotas and strict protections, Canada’s Atlantic bluefin tuna stock faces depletion due to international mismanagement and demand for sushi meat from the prized fish, researchers say.
“There’s a sushi...
From Philippine Daily Inquirer
The government is scheduled to negotiate for fishing access agreements with Palau Island and Papua New Guinea this month, a senior agriculture official said.
In an interview, Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Director...
Written by Hideaki Yuri
In the Ozaki district on Tsushima island in Nagasaki Prefecture, a worker tosses Japanese sand lance and mackerel into one of the 80 round crawls set up in the sea.
The calm water abruptly churns as the feeding frenzy...
Written by Shahid ShahPakistan is about to start a much-awaited survey of its marine fisheries resources this month after a gap of nearly 30 years in a bid to get a clear picture of fish stocks.â€No survey of fish stocks has been conducted in the...
Written by Natalia Freitas for atuna.comThe European Commission has approved the Operational Programme for Maltese Fisheries Industry scheduled to be taken into action between 2007 and 2015. Despite the official date, the programme was released by...
From AFP
The Japanese passion for sushi is apparently immune to the global economic crisis.
A plump tuna on Monday fetched 9.6 million yen (104,300 dollars) at Tokyo’s Tsukiji fish market, the second highest price ever.
This year’s first...
From La Voz de GaliciaJEALSA Rianxeira plans to extend its brand across Europe and the United States.The economical expectations for 2009 seem will be even gloomier than in 2008. Nevertheless, such pessimism does not affect the Spanish canning group...
Source: The Business MirrorThe Philippines is planning to put up four fishing ports near the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the Pacific Ocean after Jakarta decided not to renew an agreement that grants fishing rights to Filipinos in Indonesia....
In the Solomon Islands’ newspaper, the Solomon Star, the following letter to the editor has been published relating to the management of the local tuna cannery:
Dear Editor - Thank you for giving us a space in your paper to voice out our concerns...
From The Business Mirror
A recent move of the Indonesian government to regulate its tuna catch may spell a bright prospect in the usage of the Davao Fishport Complex, the country's only transshipment fish-port complex, its manager said....
From GMA News
A national federation of small fisherfolk organizations in the Philippines filed a diplomatic protest Tuesday at the Japanese Embassy against poaching by Japanese tuna factory ships in waters off Aurora province.
The Pambansang...
Written by Natalia Freitas for atuna.comSea Value Company Limited, Thailand’s second largest canned tuna processor and exporter, is expanding its activities within Europe through the creation of Sea Value Europe BV.
The mother company seeks a...
Written by Stephan KueffnerEcuadorian President Rafael Correa has threatened to expel Hutchison Port Holdings Ltd., the world’s largest port operator, from the country due to delays in constructing a port in Manta.The country will remove a tourism...
By Keith Johnson, Wallstreet Journal
Tuna fish made a rare foray into headlines Tuesday, when a prized bluefin fetched $104,000 at a Tokyo fish auction. The 282-pound catch, which sold for the second-highest price ever, will be split by two sushi...
From GMA NewsListed tuna exporter Alliance Tuna International Inc. will be acquiring majority stake in the “second-largest retailer of smoked seafood†in New Zealand.
The company said there was “no adverse†finding on its due diligence on Prime...
Written by Romer S. Sarmiento
Fisheries officials and tuna businessmen from Palau are expected to visit General Santos city within the month to explore joint ventures with Filipino counterparts, an industry official said last Monday.â€About five...
From The Daily Inquirer
Hong Kong-based Victory Fund Ltd. has acquired 13 percent of fish company Alliance Tuna International Inc. for P128 million, according to data from the Philippine Stock Exchange.
The data showed that shares of Alliance...
Source: AFPThe Spanish government on Friday asked parliament to approve the dispatch of up to 395 troops to the European Union's naval mission to combat piracy in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Somalia.
The government also asked the...
From The InquirerAirline companies need to add more direct flights to Japan so that the country’s competitiveness in the sashimi market could be boosted, tuna exporters said on Thursday.
Mario Malinao, manager of the Davao Fish Port Complex...
Source: AFPThe World Wildlife Fund (WWF) on Friday slammed Athens over plans for a second bluefin tuna-fattening farm the group fears will exacerbate over-fishing of the species in the Mediterranean.
Greece’s authorization of an additional...
Source: Vietnam News AgencyDozens of fishermen from three south-central provinces are receiving training in reduction of “bycatch,†or accidental netting of creatures they do not intend to catch.The training course, which began earlier this month,...
Source: Northern Territory NewsTwelve Indonesian fishermen will be brought to Darwin after they were allegedly caught fishing in northern Australian waters. Rear Admiral Allan du Toit said an Indonesian fishing vessel was found inside the Australian...
Written by Kristine Jane R. LiuHomegrown Alliance Tuna International, Inc. is looking at diversifying into other food products as part of its long-term growth plans.In a briefing on Thursday, the tuna company noted that while tuna would remain its...
Source: Kyodo NewsThe battle over a bluefin tuna that sold for ¥9.63 million at the first auction of the year at Tokyo’s Tsukiji market, the highest price fetched in eight years, ended when the Japanese and Chinese bidders agreed to share the fish,...
From Business WorldAn exporters’ group bared on Wednesday plans to organize a research body that will help ensure sustainability of the tuna sector.Ronnie P. Masicampo, executive director of the Philippine Exporters Confederation, Inc.-Region 12,...
Source: La EstrellaFishing companies are requesting more support from the government as the sector has been going down hill for the last four years The industry has been shrinking over the last five years and lost more than $60 million over the last...
From Tanzania Daily News
The government is in the final stage of preparing rules and regulations of the Deep Sea Fishing Authority Act. If later passed in parliament, the legislation will play a major role in combating illegal fishing along the...
Source: Jakarta GlobeSkipjack tuna producers are up in arms over a new government regulation limiting exports for the first quarter of this year, saying imposing quotas will neither stop a continuing slump in prices nor help them cope with falling...
By AtunaThe Western and Central Pacific Tuna Commission’s (WCPFC) last meeting, which took place in Busan (Korea) from 8-12 December, established new conservation measures for the recovery of bigeye and yellowfin stocks in the Western and Central...
Written by Stacey Davidson
Clean Seas Tuna’s ambition to close the lifecycle of southern bluefin tuna is looking positive, according to an update on the stock exchange last week.Preparations have begun at the company’s onshore hatchery at Arno Bay...
Written by Anne HillmanThe animal rights organization PETA is attempting to rebrand the popular fish as the “kitten of the sea†in order to discourage people from fishing it and eating it. In the fishing town of Unalaska — even young children are...
Source: Wall Street JournalThe Tokyo restaurant world was shocked this week when a 128kg Japanese bluefin tuna fetched 9.63 million yen ($153,000) - the highest price paid for a bluefin tuna in eight years.Kyubey, a posh Ginza sushi place, sold...
Source: The Yemen ObserverMinister of Fisheries Wealth Mohammed Shamlan held a meeting Monday with a representative of the Japanese Sojitz Corporation to discuss measures taken to carry out a memorandum of understanding signed between the two sides...
Source: KyodoThe famed Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo will allow tourists to resume watching its early-morning tuna auctions from Jan. 19 after a monthlong ban instituted in mid-December ends on Jan. 17, Tokyo government officials said...
Written by R. Ramabhadran PillaiThe Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) has embarked on a project to utilize tuna resources. It has focused on converting 1,000 fishing vessels to tuna long liners.Tuna is the third largest...
By AtunaThe study ‘By-Catch and Discards of the European Purse Seine Tuna Fishery in The Indian Ocean-Characteristics and Estimation for the 2003-2007 Period’ presented on the last Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) meeting confirms the higher...
By AtunaAs most of the Mediterranean islands, Malta has a millenary tradition in fishing for tuna. The country has fished almost 3.000 M/T of tuna in the past eight years, 561 M/T only in 2007.
According to the Maltese Ministry for Resources and...
From Natural Products Insider
Austral Group received an award for Cleanest, Most Eco-Friendly Production in the Fourth National Peruvian Responsible Management contest. The program was created by the Peruvian Ministry of the Environment to promote...
From The New EraPolice at Luderitz have dismissed claims of favoritism and political interference by the Namibia Seamen and Allied Workers Union (Nasawu) as “malicious rumorsâ€.Nasawu, whose branch organizer at Lüderitz is in custody, claims that...
Source: NOAANOAA submitted the first ever report to Congress identifying nations – France, Italy, Libya, Panama, the People’s Republic of China, and Tunisia – whose fishing vessels were engaged in illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing...
Source: The West AustralianSheer luck may have saved the heart of Australia’s tuna fishing industry as a bushfire swept towards Port Lincoln on South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula.The fire destroyed 280 hectares of scrub and severely damaged two tuna...
Source: SIBC News
Getax Australia, a consultant agency, is expected to start a feasibility study into the Foumamanu area in East Kwara'ae as a potential tuna cannery location by June this year.Graemme Maus of the Australian company and Don...
Ecuador was granted with a cooperating non-member (CNM) status in the last Western Central Pacific Tuna Commission (WCPFC) meeting, which took place in Busan (South Korea) from 8 to 12 of December. This status allows the South-American country to...
By AtunaThe sterling fall may prevent the United Kingdom (UK) tuna dealers from enjoying the current low raw material prices.
Prices for raw frozen skipjack tuna went down 51% since last July – when the British currency started to fall –and the...
Written by Keiko OhnumaPublications and chefs warn lovers of ocean fish that their taste is taxing various speciesRemote Southeast Asian islanders who survive by fishing refuse to believe reports that certain species are going extinct, a researcher...
Source: Radio NZInvestors are in Solomon Islands this week to discuss a potential tuna cannery location in the Foumamanu area in East Kwara’ae.Getax Australia, a consultant agency, is expected to start a feasibility study on the locations potential...
Written by Lauren NovakSA researchers have made a breakthrough in improving the treatment of premature babies, discovering omega-3 fatty acids in tuna oil can improve mental development.A six-year study by researchers at the Women's and...
Source: The Journal PioneerThe perfect bluefin is often described as “a butterballâ€. But that word pales when it comes to describing the tuna caught off Oma, Japan, which fetched more than $100,000 in a recent Tokyo auction.“I wouldn’t mind hooking...
From International Supermarket News
A frozen food manufacturer based near Newcastle which supplied Findus, has been forced to call in administrators, leaving more than 400 jobs under threat. Newcastle Production, which has an exclusive license to...
Source: And Kronos IntlThe southern Italian region of Sicily is moving to revive its potentially lucrative fishing sector, enacting several measures to boost the industry after years of decline. If nurtured, fishing could once again become one of...
From Business WorldEfforts to attract out-of-town investors to the fish port complex here, particularly in cold storage facilities, are not gaining ground due to the volatile security situation gripping other parts of southern Philippines, an...
By AtunaThe last issue of Infofish Trade News reported lower sashimi consumption by the Japanese during the last holiday’s festivities.
According to the issue, the sashimi tuna market was disappointingly less vibrant during the year-end...
Tuna unloading at the fish port complex here has slowed down since the start of the year, owing to the fishermen's devotion to the feast of the Sto. Nino, the fish port management said.Miguel B. Lamberte, local manager of the Philippine...
Written by Raphael Vassallo, MaltaTodayEuropean Commissioner for Fisheries Joe Borg confirmed this week that the Commission has requested further clarifications regarding Malta’s claims to have “re-exported†over 5,000 tons of bluefin tuna to Japan...
Written by Natalia Freitas for AtunaThe United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), delivered to the U.S. Congress a report with six identified nations – France, Italy, Libya, Panama, the People’s Republic of China, and...
From SeaFood Business
Thai Union Frozen Products announced yesterday that it is Thailand’s first shrimp producer to earn the Aquaculture Certification Council's three-star certification, ensuring that its hatcheries, farms and processing plants...
Written by Veronica Martinez
The canned tuna price increase has caused Mexicans to reduce their purchases of this product. Low sales have already been recorded, according to data from the Bank of Mexico and from the consulting firm AC Nielsen....
By AtunaBarack Obama took power yesterday as President of United States of America, one of the top 3 tuna consuming countries.
The new President speech’s central motto - also continuously used during his presidential campaign - is: “The change...
From Radio NZThe Investment Corporation of Solomon Islands says it encourages potential investors looking into setting up a cannery on Malaita to do so, as it would be a major boost to employment and the economy.Representatives from consultant...
Written by Natalia Freitas, for atuna.com
“Sustainability†seems to be the word of the hour in the tuna industry, but maybe “responsibility†is the term that should be used instead.
The awareness of the industry about the existing risk of...
Source: European CommissionThe United Kingdom notified the European Union on the findings of high levels of histamine (776 mg/kg-ppm) in frozen tuna steaks coming from Yemen.The discovery was made during a border control. The consignment was...
By AtunaThe possible set up of a new tuna cannery in the province of Malaita, Solomon Island, could be causing some controversy.
According to Mr. Mark Berman of the dolphin protection group Earth Island Institute the Malaita region is known for...
Written by Ednal Palmer
International animal activities are urging the Philippine Government to return dolphins exported to them back to the Solomon Islands.
Solomon Islands Mammal Education Centre and Exporters Ltd sent seven dolphins there...
Source: Seychelles NationalAn Abu Dhabi firm yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding for tuna ranching and other fisheries activities to begin here soon.A representative of the firm, Asmac, signed on behalf of the company while Veronique...
At the closing of 2008, Atuna.com enquired our readers –on the tuna poll- about the outcomes of the last WCPFC meeting. Many measures were taken in order to slow down the depletion of tuna stocks in the Western Pacific Ocean, such as the permanent...
By AtunaThe Indian Ocean Tuna Commission released an interesting report on Ecosystems and Bycatch regarding its 10th meeting, which took place last October in Thailand.
The report brings a special section about the by-catch and discards of the...
Spain’s parliament approved Wednesday to send up to 395 troops to the European Union's naval mission to combat piracy off the coast of Somalia.Spain will also contribute two navy ships and a patrol plane to the mission under the plan which is...
By Atuna2009 starts with changes in the tuna industry scenario. Two big companies, Connors Brothers and Del Monte Foods are no longer in the tuna business, and, therefore, no longer quoted as part of the Atuna Stock Index.
Last November, Connor...
Source: Radio New ZealandA tuna cannery consultant says Solomon Islands has great potential in the cannery industry, but he has reservations over whether the tuna could be certified as dolphin safe.Don Hosokawa of US based Tuna Tech has worked with...
By AtunaUnited States is among the top 3 tuna consuming countries in the world. However, 2008 data shows a decline in the appetite for this fish.
From January to November of 2008, the U.S. imported 246.503 M/T of tuna products – over a one billion...
Source: Globefish According to Globefish’ latest Tuna Report, tuna catches in all major oceans continue to be below average. Owners of tuna purse seiners are discussing a possible 30 day stop of fishing sometime during the first quarter of 2009 in...
Written by: R. S. Sarmiento Experts will test-run the facilities of a newly built private laboratory here designed to ensure high standards for tuna exports. Ronnie P. Masicampo, executive director of the Philippine Exporters Confederation, Inc....
This week, the tuna community sadly acknowledged the death of one of its Spanish colleagues.
Mr. Andres Neira Araujo, who for several years was Purchasing Director of the Spanish tuna cannery Bernardo Alfageme, S.A. (brand Miau) passed away last...
From BBC NewsPiracy off Somalia’s coast is a cause of falls in tuna catches in the Indian Ocean - one of the world's richest sources of the fish, experts say.The head of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission, Alejandro Anganuzzi, said catches fell by...
From Environmental Working GroupFDA says a risk analysis on fish consumption it posted Jan. 16 does not affect a 2004 advisory against eating fish that often contain high levels of mercury, despite Environmental Protection Agency complaints that the...
Written by Hillel Wright, The Japan TimesIn December 2007, the Fisheries Laboratory fish farm of Kinki University in Wakayama Prefecture became the first facility in the world to “close the cycle†by breeding Pacific bluefin tuna (hon-maguro) from...
By AtunaAn extensive study conducted by the Bureau of Rural Sciences, Canberra, Australia and presented at the last WCPFC Scientific Meeting (October, 2008) states that financial returns for tuna longliners can be maximized with a complete switch...
From The Bermuda SunIf we don’t take our quota of fish, other countries might, say officials, who also insist that we can minimize peripheral damage to the environmentEnvironment chiefs believe Bermuda can sustain a small scale longline fishing...
Fishing in Maldives, at present, is extremely poor and that MIFCO is able to get only an average of 50 tons of fish daily, MIFCO media coordinator Maumoon has informed Miadhu Daily. According to Maumoon fish is only available in Huvadhoo atoll and...
Source: SeaFood BusinessThe Food Marketing Institute announced Friday that its board of directors has adopted a policy encouraging members to support sustainable seafood programs.The policy stems from the Sustainability Task Force the group’s board...
From Radio NZEnvironmental non government organizations and civil society groups in Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea are being kept informed about key issues on fisheries in their respective countries so they can help with regional efforts...
Source: Center For Consumer FreedomToday, Tuesday morning, a California judicial panel will hear oral arguments in the appeal of a 2006 verdict that placed canned tuna outside the reach of California’s “Proposition 65†law. The case established that...
Source: Impress Press ReleaseThe Steel Can producer Impress announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase the business of Megasa, one of Spain’s leading providers of seafood cans. The transaction, which is subject to...
Atuna.com started the new year asking our readers what would be the greatest challenge for the tuna industry in 2009.
Taking into consideration the financial crisis affecting the world in the past six months -and right now still - it was no...
Source: WWF Press ReleaseA USD 57,500 prize fund is on offer for the best new fishing gears designed to reduce bycatch in the fourth International Smart Gear Competition, launched by WWF.Over 4 million sharks, billfish, sea turtles, marine mammals...
Source: Letter to the Editor of Solomon Star
Based on recent observations and happenings in Noro, the board of Soltai should be congratulated for finally doing the restructuring. Good work done so far and please do not stop until you have gone...
Source: San Francisco ChronicleCalifornia State regulators on Tuesday continued their 5-year legal battle to compel food companies to paste labels on tuna cans warning of potentially unhealthy mercury levels.The Food and Drug Administration and the...
Investment in Thunnus Overseas Group, market-leading processor and distributor, further diversifies ECP's portfolioEmerging Capital Partners (ECP), an international private equity firm focused on investing across the African continent,...
A message posted on BodyBuilding.com forum -a website dedicated to body builders in United States- indicates the concerns of a 33 year old man about the amount of protein alleged to U.S. tuna cans label and the actual amount inside. Full text...
Source: Letter to the Editor of Solomon StarDear Editor,
I read with interest the update from the proponents of the proposed tuna cannery on Malaita province. Your paper carried the Moffat Mamu by-lined story on Wednesday 28 January 2009. It’s...
From ReutersPrices in the Seychelles rose 63.3 percent in December from a year earlier after the floating of the heavily-indebted economy's currency, the National Statistics Bureau (NSB) said on Thursday.The inflation rate in December compared...
Source: Business WorldTheirs may be small boats but this group of fishermen is responsible for delivering the premium yellowfin tuna catches that ironically would not be available to most Filipinos. â€It’s not anymore the big fishing boats that bring...
From Radio NZTwo of the largest privately owned companies in American Samoa say a mandated 50-cent US wage increase scheduled for May could see their businesses in trouble.This comes as Star Kist and Samoa Packing issued their concerns at a hearing...
Source: NOAA Press Release
NOAA scientists will travel to the West African nation of Senegal this week to train government officials and university students to be marine resource observers on fishing boats. The observers will collect scientific...
By Michelle PaynterOne Savannah woman used her musical talents to “reel†in the fish, so to speak.A few months ago WTOC introduced people to Patti Newton. She wrote a jingle and entered it in the Chicken of the Sea jingle jam contest last fall....
By Stuart BiggsTokyo’s Tsukiji, dubbed “the fish market at the center of the world†for its influence on the global seafood trade, is being forced to move to a site laced with benzene and cancer-causing chemicals. Tokyo’s Metropolitan Government is...
By Frank Knight As Clean Seas continues to increase the biomass of live fish to a mid term target of 5,000 tons there will be a continuing requirement for additional cash due to the sale lag time and the cost of carrying increasing volumes of...
A group of Pacific island nations that control a large portion of the world’s tuna fisheries are set to try to win a bigger share of the $3 billion regional industry, an official said.Marshall Islands Marine Resources Authority director Glen Joseph...
Below an opinion as expressed by StrategyPage.comThe Somali pirates are driving up the price of Tuna. Indian Ocean tuna fishing is a $6 billion a year industry, with hundreds of boats working off the east coast of Africa. Pirates will seize the...
From PR NewswireEco-conscious shoppers can enjoy guilt-free tuna sandwiches with US troll-caught albacore now widely available in cans. Listed as a “Best Choice†on Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch guide, troll-caught albacore is a delicious,...
