International & Trade Archives

Europe’s Green Energy Rush Slashed Emissions—and Crippled the Economy

December 2, 2025 — European politicians pitched the continent’s green transition to voters as a win-win: Citizens would benefit from green jobs and cheap, abundant solar and wind energy alongside a sharp reduction in carbon emissions.

Nearly two decades on, the promise has largely proved costly for consumers and damaging for the economy.

Europe has succeeded in slashing carbon emissions more than any other region—by 30% from 2005 levels, compared with a 17% drop for the U.S. But along the way, the rush to renewables has helped drive up electricity prices in much of the continent.

Germany now has the highest domestic electricity prices in the developed world, while the U.K. has the highest industrial electricity rates, according to a basket of 28 major economies analyzed by the International Energy Agency. Italy isn’t far behind. Average electricity prices for heavy industries in the European Union remain roughly twice those in the U.S. and 50% above China. Energy prices have also grown more volatile as the share of renewables increased.

Read the full article at The Wall Street Journal

NGOs call for WCPFC to adopt transshipment rules, echo calls for South Pacific albacore management procedure

December 1, 2025 — Environmental NGOs are calling on the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) to adopt new rules for transshipment regulation, electronic monitoring, and fish aggregating devices (FADs) and have joined calls for a new management procedure for South Pacific albacore.

The WCPFC, which is meeting 1 to 5 December, oversees more than half of the world’s tuna catch and includes 26 different member countries.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

International Coalition of Fisheries Associations urging CITES to reject proposals on multiple species

November 25, 2025 — The International Coalition of Fisheries Associations (ICFA) is calling on member nations of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) to carefully consider multiple new species restriction proposals during its 20th conference of parties (CoP20).

The latest meeting, running from 24 November through 5 December, will cover over 100 proposals to adjust its rules regarding the handling of threatened or endangered species. Among those proposals ICFA said it is concerned about and is urging CITES to reject includes one that would change the listing of tope shark and smooth-hound sharks. Another involves changing the listing of Japanese eel and American eel, and a third covers sea cucumbers.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

EU IUU Coalition warns bloc is leaving its borders wide open to illegal seafood imports

November 24, 2025 — The European Union is failing to keep illicit seafood products from entering its borders, despite having some of the strongest illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing restrictions on paper, according to the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF).

The NGO – along with Oceana, The Pew Charitable Trusts, The Nature Conservancy, and WWF EU, all of which comprise the E.U.’s IUU Fishing Coalition – has warned in a new report – “Beyond CATCH: Why E.U. import controls still fail to keep illegal seafood out of the market” – that this flow of IUU products into the bloc is creating “dangerous loopholes” that threaten consumer trust, fair competition, and global efforts to combat fisheries crime.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Pacific Island nations, Global Tuna Alliance urge WCPFC to adopt management procedure for South Pacific albacore

November 21, 2025 — Ahead of the upcoming meeting of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), taking place from 1 to 5 December in Manila, Philippines, Pacific Island nations have developed a joint, science-based proposal for the management of South Pacific albacore.

Simultaneously, the Global Tuna Alliance (GTA) has launched the “Anchor Albacore’s Future” campaign to highlight the importance of adopting a predictable management plan for the tuna species.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Latest meeting to set quotas for Northeast Atlantic pelagic fisheries yields little progress

November 19 2025 — The latest meeting of the North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC) resulted in no agreement on a sharing arrangement for blue whiting and opposition to a total allowable catch (TAC) for mackerel in line with scientific advice, leaving both fisheries facing overfishing for another year.

The International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES) latest scientific advice for Northeast Atlantic pelagic species recommended big cuts to quotas for multiple fisheries, including a 41 percent decrease in the blue whiting catch and an even steeper 70 percent decrease to the mackerel catch – taking that stock from 576,968 metric tons (MT) to just 174,357 MT. That advice comes after years of overfishing of both species, caused by continuous disagreements between the member states of Norway, the E.U., the U.K., Iceland, Denmark with respect to the Faroe Islands and Greenland, and Russia – who have in the past repeatedly agreed to follow the ICES advice, but inevitably blown past the TAC after disagreeing over who should take what share of the catch.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

NGOs calling on ICCAT to enact skipjack management procedure, better monitoring

November 12, 2025 — Multiple NGOs are calling for the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) to continue its work on management procedures and enact stronger monitoring and observer coverage ahead of its annual meeting.

ICCAT’s 29th annual meeting runs from 17 to 24 November, and the regional fishery management organization (RFMO) has a range of management considerations to tackle. Among those, NGOs like the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) and Pew Charitable Trusts are calling on the management organization to enhance observation coverage of the region’s longline fleets and to establish a management procedure for western Atlantic skipjack tunas.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

ICFA Urges COP30 Negotiators to Recognize Critical Role of Fisheries in Climate Action

November 10, 2025 — The following was released by the International Coalition of Fisheries Associations:

The International Coalition of Fisheries Associations (ICFA) reminds climate change negotiators of the critical role fisheries play in both climate mitigation and adaptation. ICFA emphasizes two key points: (1) the fisheries sector’s contribution to mitigating climate change; and (2) the impact of climate change on marine ecosystems and fish stocks. Related to both is the critical role blue foods play in global food security and nutrition.

Next week, during the 30^th Conference of the Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, countries are expected to deliver more ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC’s) and adopt indicators under the Global Goal on Adaptation.

“Fisheries produce low carbon proteins and lower the overall carbon intensity of the global food system. But ocean ecosystems and fisheries are impacted by climate change. We need to prioritize adaptation strategies to ensure resilience and contribute to the sector’s mitigation potential. Global food security, nutrition and the socio-economic well-being of billions is on the line,” says ICFA Chair, Ivan Lopez Van der Veen.

In a recently adopted resolution, ICFA calls on Parties to:

· Recognize that the fisheries sector plays a crucial role in combating climate change, as fisheries products and blue foods have among the lowest carbon footprints of all animal proteins. Implementation of NDCs 3.0 should increase the proportion of these products in the global diet to substantially reduce the carbon intensity of the global food system and support achievement of several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs);

· Take into full consideration the impacts of climate change on marine ecosystems, fish stocks and economic activities at sea, and encourage all Parties to prioritize adaptation strategies that strengthen the resilience of ocean and fish resources. Better adaptation can contribute to the sector’s mitigation potential;

· Bring together policy makers and the economic sectors, including the fisheries sector, to find pragmatic and implementable solutions to tackle climate change and to adapt to its unavoidable effects.

Read ICFA’s full resolution on climate and fisheries here.

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Since 1988 the International Coalition of Fisheries Associations (ICFA) has been a unified seafood policy voice committed to the sustainable use of marine resources and dedicated to global food security. For more information, please visit www.fishcoalition.org

Newfoundland fishing union condemns creation of MPAs

October 29, 2025 — The Newfoundland and Labrador Fish, Food, and Allied Workers Union (FFAW) Inshore Council has unanimously condemned Canada’s use of marine protected areas (MPAs), refuges, national marine conservation areas, and other area restrictions that it says unfairly limit the fishing industry.

“We demand that Prime Minister Mark Carney, [Fisheries] Minister Joanne Thompson, and [Canadian Identity and Culture] Minister Steven Guilbeault immediately dismantle these baseless closures and abandon all plans for new ones. These policies are a deliberate betrayal of our fish harvesters, wrecking livelihoods while masquerading as conservation,” FFAW Vice President Jason Sullivan said in a release. “The federal government’s obsession with these closures is a disgrace, prioritizing hollow environmental optics over the survival of our communities.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Catch limits for scallops on Georges Bank reduced due to increase in predator population

October 28, 2025 — One of Nova Scotia’s most lucrative seafood species is being attacked by natural predators on one of the most famous fishing grounds.

What remains to be seen is whether it’s a short-term occurrence or a sign of things to come.

A recently published stock assessment by Fisheries and Oceans Canada for sea scallops in Scallop Fishing Area (SFA) 27A on Georges Bank notes major changes in the amount of biomass and natural mortality rates. The changes were dramatic enough that DFO reduced the total allowable catch last December.

Fully recruited biomass decreased to 13,570 tonnes in 2024 from 31,095 tonnes in 2023 after fluctuating “within the healthy zone since the 2000s,” the science advisory report said. Fully recruited refers to commercial-size scallops.

Recruit biomass — the total mass of new scallops in the population — dropped by 72 per cent from 2023 to 2024.

The report said the “significant interannual changes” in stock condition for the SFA are likely driven by environmental variability.

“Research vessel survey data from Canada and the United States suggest that predator abundance, notably sea stars and crabs, has increased within the areas of known scallop distribution. Aggregations of predators in areas of high scallop density contribute to increases in natural mortality.”

Read the full article at CBC News