Fishing News

Three Chinese nationals were missing from Ghanaian waters and believed to have been kidnapped after a "suspected pirate attack" on their Ghanaian-registered fishing vessel, the West African nation's military said on Saturday.Seven armed people boarded the ship and fired warning shots shortly before 6 p.m. (1800 GMT) on Thursday, the military said in a statement, adding that they had stayed on board for about three hours while some crew members hid.After the suspected pirates left and the crew came out of hiding…

U.S. President Donald Trump’s regulatory freeze has injected chaos and uncertainty into a number of lucrative American fisheries, raising the risk of a delayed start to the fishing season for some East Coast cod and haddock fleets and leading to overfishing of Atlantic bluefin tuna, according to Reuters interviews with industry groups and federal government employees.America’s $320 billion fishing industry relies on a branch of the federal government, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to manage coastal fisheries.

Researchers at Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML), alongside colleagues at the University of Aberdeen, found that the majority of UK fishermen feel their livelihoods are being threatened by the rapid expansion of offshore wind farms (OWFs), with impacts felt across all vessel sizes and fleet sectors.The study reveals that while the UK leads globally in offshore wind energy production, providing 45% of European capacity and 24% of global capacity, this growth is creating significant spatial conflicts with the commercial fishing industry as both sectors compete for limited marine space.

The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has finalized guidance aimed at mitigating the impacts of offshore wind energy projects on commercial and for-hire recreational fisheries.It provides a national framework for addressing social and economic impacts on the fishing industry and establishes clear processes for the offshore wind industry to address potential disruptions to fisheries. It ensures consistency and promotes fair treatment of fishermen, regardless of their home or landing port.The guidance emphasizes early engagement and transparency with fishing communities…

Over the past month, the Australian Border Force has intercepted 12 illegal foreign fishing vessels in waters off the Northern Territory, seizing over six tonnes of sea cucumber, 500kg of other catch, and over two tonnes of salt, which is used to preserve the catch.Operation LUNAR is multi-agency operation in the Northern Territory established on December 8, 2024 to target the increase in illegal fishing along the +10,000km of remote Northern Territory coastline.Eleven Indonesian nationals pleaded guilty to illegally fishing in Australian waters at Darwin Local Court on January 7…

Vietnam has protested against China's alleged detention of Vietnamese fishermen and fishing vessels in the contested Paracel Islands in the South China Sea, a foreign ministry spokesperson said on Thursday.Vietnam urged China to "immediately release the fishermen and fishing vessels that were illegally detained", the spokesperson told reporters in a regular press conference, without specifying how many people had been detained or when they had been detained.There was no immediate response from the Chinese foreign ministry to Reuters' questions about the incident.(Reuters)

Nine Indonesian nationals who pleaded guilty to illegally fishing in Australian waters at Darwin Local Court have had their vessel destroyed.On September 19, 2024, Australian authorities apprehended the them as they fished illegally for sea cucumber in the vicinity of Augustus Island, Western Australia.Authorities seized 350 kilograms of sea cucumber worth up to approximately A$30,000 ($20,000 or more than 300 million Indonesian Rupiah) along with 175 kilograms of salt (used for preserving catch) and a large quantity of fishing equipment.

The first US-built trawler-processor for Alaskan pollock in over three decades is now undergoing sea trials in the Northern Pacific, testing an integrated technology package from Kongsberg Discovery tailored to locate, inspect, and engage fish with unparalleled efficiency.The 100-meter-long Arctic Fjord, designed by Kongsberg Maritime and built by Louisiana’s Thoma-Sea Marine Constructor, will start full-time operations for 2024’s pollock A season in the Bering Sea.Speaking ahead of this week’s Pacific Marine Expo in Seattle…

Norway/Uruguay-based Pesquera Azul’s has successfully trialed an innovative catch protection cage in whale-rich waters in the southern Indian Ocean. The company says it is a potential game-changer for the longline fishing industry as it grapples with the challenge of whale depredation.The steady increase in the whale population in sub-Antarctic fishing grounds is hampering the longline fishing industry, especially for fatty fish species. Whales have learned to snatch, for example…

Although the number of fishermen who make a living on the waters of the Great Lakes is much diminished from a half century ago, the region's commercial whitefish fishery continues to be viable and profitable.Henriksen Fisheries is one of about a dozen commercial entities in the Wisconsin waters of Lake Michigan, focused on trap netting whitefish in Green Bay and the waters surrounding the Door Peninsula.Charlie Henriksen started his family-owned fishing business in Door County in 1987.Originally from Illinois…

An emerging technology to fish for lobsters virtually ropeless to prevent whale entanglements is exciting conservationists, but getting a frigid reception from harvesters worried it will drive them out of business and upend their way of life.Injuries to endangered North Atlantic Right Whales ensnared in fishing gear have fueled a prominent campaign by environmental groups to pressure the industry to adopt on-demand equipment that only suspends ropes in the water briefly before traps are pulled from the water.The Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch…

As China sends warships and fighter jets to the Taiwan Strait after a U.S. visit by Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, deemed a separatist by Beijing, fishing crews plying the narrow waterway say they fret more about their livelihood than politics.For years, Chinese fishermen trawling for fish, shrimp and crab have played cat and mouse with Taiwanese authorities as they closely track boats that near the median line of the Taiwan Strait.Villagers on Pingtan island in China's southeastern Fujian province…

Organized crime in the fisheries industry that endangers stocks, exploits labor and robs states of billions of dollars must be fought with cross-border surveillance and stronger law enforcement, officials meeting in Copenhagen heard on Thursday.Some 600 million people worldwide depend on the sector for their livelihoods, working in a value chain affected by illegal fishing, slave labour, corruption and tax evasion, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).Government ministers and delegates attended a conference by the Blue Justice Initiative…

OSLO, March 20 (Reuters) - Norway's Supreme Court ruled on Monday that EU ships cannot fish for snow crab off the Svalbard archipelago in the Arctic in a case also deciding who has the right to explore for oil and minerals in the region.At stake was whether EU vessels had the right to catch snow crab, whose meat is considered a delicacy by gourmets in Japan and South Korea, in the same way as Norwegian vessels did.But what is valid for the snow crab, a sedentary species living on the seabed…

Lobsters versus right whales: The latest chapter in a long quest to make fishing more sustainableMaine lobster fishermen received a Christmas gift from Congress at the end of 2022: A six-year delay on new federal regulations designed to protect critically endangered North Atlantic right whales.The rules would have required lobstermen to create new seasonal nonfishing zones and further reduce their use of vertical ropes to retrieve lobster traps from the seafloor. Entanglement…

International Maritime Organization's (IMO) Secretary-General Kitack Lim has urged states to take action to achieve entry into force of the Cape Town fishing vessel safety agreement, a key international treaty that will establish an international regime for fishing vessel safety.IMO said the agreement would help make fishing safe, sustainable, and legal - and make a significant contribution to the protection of fishers, an unacceptably high number of whom lose their lives every year."We cannot afford to be complacent when it comes to addressing the safety of fishers and fishing vessels…

French fishermen blocked a British cargo vessel from docking in a Brittany port on Friday, in protest at what they say are moves by authorities in London and Jersey to withhold licenses to fish in British waters under a post-Brexit deal.The fishermen held aloft red flares as they circled their boats outside Saint-Malo to block the Normandy Trader's path - a prelude to a planned blockade later on Friday of Calais and the Channel Tunnel, both major transport hubs for trade between Britain and continental Europe.The one-hour Saint-Malo protest and the larger action further east along France's coast risk reigniting a dispute between the…

Britain gave France 48 hours on Monday to back down in a fishing row that threatens to spiral into a wider trade dispute between two of Europe's biggest economies or face tortuous legal action under the Brexit trade deal.Post-Brexit bickering over fish culminated last Wednesday in the French seizure of a British scallop dredger, the Cornelis Gert Jan, in French waters near Le Havre. Paris has threatened sanctions from Nov. 2 that could snarl cross-Channel trade.The measures could include increased border and sanitary checks on goods from Britain and banning British vessels from some French ports."The French have made completely unreasonable threats…

The Biden administration is considering ways to ensure the U.S. commercial fishing industry is paid for any losses it incurs from the planned expansion of offshore wind power in the Atlantic Ocean, according to state and federal officials involved in the matter, [Reuters reported in an exclusive on Thursday.]Discussions between state and federal officials, which participants described as being at a very early stage, are aimed at addressing the top threat to President Joe Biden's…

The Mexican government’s decision to loosen its policy of keeping a fishing-free zone around a protected area in the Gulf of California region was a “setback” to keeping alive a near-extinct porpoise species, a conservation group said on Thursday.There are thought to be only between six and 20 vaquita porpoises left and the species is on the brink of extinction as more die each year in fishing nets than are being born, biologists say.Mexico had previously banned boats entering the species’ last sanctuary off the coast of Mexico, known as the “zero-tolerance zone”.

As nations commit to reducing greenhouse gases, a fishing vessel is designed to do its share. Designed by Norway’s Skipsteknisk and Selvåg AS, it is in build at Cemre Shipyard for Sorheim Holding, the Selvåg Senior is a remarkable concept. Capable of both trawling and purse seining, the 79.5- x16.2-m vessel will have a molded depth of 6.9 m. The RSW holds, in the DNV-GL classed vessel, will have a total volume of just under 2550 cu. m.. The main propulsion engine will be a medium-speed Wärtsilä 8V31DF, producing 4,800 kW at 750 RPM.

Sri Lankan fishermen say they feel helpless after a cargo ship carrying tonnes of chemicals and plastics caught fire and later sank, resulting in a ban on fishing along an 80 km (50 mile) stretch of the island nation's west coast.The Singapore-registered MV X-Press Pearl, carrying 1,486 containers, including 25 tonnes of nitric acid along with other chemicals and cosmetics, was anchored offshore when a fire erupted after an explosion on May 20.Flaming containers filled with billions…

A new smartphone app created in the U.K. enables the fishing industry to report accidental wildlife catch (bycatch) alongside standard catch reporting and will help to record bycatch of important marine species such as dolphins and porpoises, seals, seabirds, sharks, skates and rays.The app's developer, AST Marine Sciences Limited, part of Applied Satellite Technology Ltd, says it hopes the technology will be used by scientists and the fishing industry to help understand which…