VIETNAM: A meeting between Vietnamese and European officials to discuss the country's yellow card. The European Commission is planning to conduct another inspection to check Vietnam’s progress in combating illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. E.C. Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (MARE) IUU Fisheries Policy Unit Head Roberto Cesari was in Vietnam on 28 October, wrapping up the most-recent site visit, when he announced his team would be returning within six months for a follow-up appointment. Vietnam was first issued a yellow card from the European Union in October 2017 after the European Commission determined it had not done…

PHILIPPINES: A Filipino has been elected chairman of the International Network of Women Engineers and Scientists-Asia Pacific Nation Network (Inwes-APNN), one of the most respected global organizations of women engineers and scientists. Juana Tapel, an engineer with a PhD and assistant director of the Bureau of Agricultural and Fisheries Engineering (BAFE), was elected as the new chairman of the Inwes-APNN during the organization’s annual general assembly held at the Institution of Engineers Malaysia in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia on Oct. 14, 2022. BAFE is an agency under the Department of Agriculture. She also received the highest number of votes in an…

Worldwide: Seven members of the seafood industry and seven NGOs are calling upon the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to better protect the fisher’s welfare on wild-caught vessels by improving data collection and analysis of labor-related accidents. Three major tuna processors, the Bolton Group, Bumble Bee, and Tri-Marine, along with seafood industry groups of Fedespesca, SEA Alliance, and the Hong Kong Sustainable Seafood Coalition have signed the call to action, which includes asking for a mechanism to gather better data and reduce fisher morality. The NGOs involved in the campaign are Earthworm, ADM Capital Foundation, ClientEarth,…

SRI LANKA: Northern Sri Lankan fishermen see government’s thrust on commercial aquaculture as latest threat to their livelihoods and land. Citing media reports of a Chinese firm investing in a sea cucumber farm in Pungudutivu, off Jaffna Peninsula in northern Sri Lanka, local fishermen have raised concern over its potential impact on their livelihoods, marine ecosystem, and land. “We recognise the need for investment in our war-affected region, but the sea cucumber farms are mainly for exports. They will only bring more harm than benefit for those of us living here,” said Annalingam Annarasa, President of the Jaffna Fisheries Federation.…