January 14, 2020 — Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA), in late November 2019, completed the purchase of a fisheries information management system (FIMS) it says will aid in the effective management of fisheries in the region’s waters.
In 2018, the PNA said the FIMS “revolutionized management” of the tuna fishery. The PNA used the system for two years, before finally deciding to buy the system outright.
January 10, 2020 — The creditors of Bumble Bee Foods, which filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November 2019, have asked the judge overseeing the case to prevent the company from paying year-end bonuses to some of its employees.
Bumble Bee is hoping to pay 37 of its employees enrolled in its Key Employee Incentive Program (KEIP) – created after the company filed for bankruptcy – between USD 1.3 million and USD 3.2 million (EUR 1.16 million and EUR 2.88 million) as a performance bonus for helping the company maintain cash flow during its difficult past few months.
January 7, 2020 — One fish, two fish, red fish… million-dollar tuna fish.
Japanese businessman Kiyoshi Kimura, who has dubbed himself the “Tuna King,” purchased a 608-pound fish for $1.8 million at a Sunday auction.
The blue fin fetched the second-highest price in history at auction Sunday, Japanese Broadcasting Corporation NHK reported.
Caught in Aomori, a political region of Japan, the giant fish sold for 193 million yen — equivalent to nearly $1.8 million.
“Yes, this is expensive, isn’t it? I want our customers to eat very tasty ones this year, too,” Kimura said after the auction, as reported by Agence France-Presse.
December 12, 2019 — Pacific bigeye, yellowfin, albacore, and skipjack tuna are all reported to be in healthy condition, according to a 2018 stock assessment announced this week during the 16th Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) meeting in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.
The Pacific Community’s (SPC) stock assessment report stated that the estimate of the total tuna catch in the WCPFC Convention Area for 2018 is 2,790,859 metric tons (MT), which represents 81 percent of the total Pacific Ocean catch of 3,443,174 MT, and 54 percent of the global tuna catch, which was 5,172,543 MT.
December 5, 2019 — SEAFOOD NEWS — Researchers are calling for the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission to better address its fisheries management challenges.
The commission – responsible for managing the vast ocean waters – meets in Papua New Guinea this week.
The Pew Charitable Trust has said due to the high volume of fishing vessels, trans-shipment (transfer of catch between fishing and carrier vessels) and port activities in the region, the Commission had been unable to increase its observer coverage.
The Trust said the commission needed to strengthen oversight of fishing vessels at sea, and in port, and modernise management for long-term sustainability.
Jamie Gibbon, of the Trusts’ international fishing team, wrote in an article for Pew that illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing was a major threat to the sustainability and profitability of the world’s fisheries.
He said sound fisheries control also required clear rules regarding how much fish could be caught and with what gear.
Mr Gibbon said that would help fishing levels become sustainable.
To achieve that, the commission should strengthen port controls, increase observer coverage and improve monitoring of trans-shipment.
The commission also needed to advance harvest strategies and protect the sharks, mantas and mobula rays.
Meanwhile, Fisheries Minister Semi Koroilavesau will lead the Fiji delegation at the meeting and said he would discuss crew policies to ensure Fijian nationals were protected on local and foreign fishing vessels.
He said the supply of tuna from several of its neighbours would also be high on the agenda for Fiji at the meeting.
“I think PNG, Solomons and Vanuatu would be ready to discuss the details of it. We have been working with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the last year in trying to achieve this.”
Mr Koroilavesau said Fiji would also push for a quota system given the number of foreign fleets on the high seas.
That, he said, would protect smaller and developing Pacific states.
Mr Koroilavesau urged Pacific governments to improve control over their fisheries to protect their value.
The Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission meeting starts on Thursday in Port Moresby.
This story was originally published on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.
December 4, 2019 — Christopher Lischewski, the former president and CEO of Bumble Bee Foods, was convicted on 3 December, 2019, of helping to orchestrate a price-fixing conspiracy between Bumble Bee, Chicken of the Sea, and StarKist, the so-called “Big Three” players in the U.S. canned tuna sector.
Lischewski was found guilty of one count of price-fixing by a jury in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California and faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of USD 1 million (EUR 900,000). His sentencing has been set for 8 April, 2020. Lischewski’s conviction may also open him up as a target of civil lawsuits filed by parties who overpaid for canned tuna as a result of the price-fixing, according to Eric Snyder, chairman of the bankruptcy practice at Wilk Auslander, a New York City-based law firm.
November 29, 2019 — At its annual meeting earlier this week, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas took steps to reduce fishing effort for bigeye tuna.
The regional fisheries management organization lowered the total allowable catch for bigeye tuna in 2020 and 2021 from 62,500 metric tons (MT) to 61,500 MT, and reduced the allowed maximum number of fish aggregating devices (FADs) from 500 to 350 in 2020 and to 300 2021. It also implemented a FAD fishing closure period for the entire Atlantic area for two months in 2020 and three months in 2021. In addition, ICCAT increased coverage by its observer program from 5 percent to 10 percent and moved to develop minimum standards for electronic monitoring.
November 29, 2019 — On 21 November, the same day it filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, Bumble Bee Foods announced it had entered into an agreement with FCF Co., its primary supplier of tuna, which agreed to acquire the company’s assets for approximately USD 925 million (EUR 836 million).
In a statement accompanying the announcement, Bumble Bee President and Chief Executive Officer Jan Tharp said she “anticipates that the transaction will move swiftly and close within 60 to 90 days.”
November 27, 2019 — The world’s major fishing nations have agreed “modest” quota cuts for the under-pressure Atlantic Bigeye tuna but critics say more should be done to protect an important food resource.
Scientists warn that unless the catch is reduced, stocks of Thunnus obesus—especially prized for sashimi in Japan and canned worldwide—could collapse within years.
A scientific report prepared for last year’s failed meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) showed numbers had plummeted to less than 20 percent of historic levels.
This is only about half what is needed to support a “maximum sustainable yield”—the largest catch that can be taken without compromising the long-term stability of a species.
Going into the meeting in Majorca, Spain, ICCAT had a headline quota of 65,000 tonnes, allocated to the seven groups, including Japan and the EU, with the largest catch.
When smaller members were included, this rose to around 77,000 tonnes, pushing the Bigeye further into the danger zone, according to NGOs.
November 27, 2019 — Something fishy is going on.
Bumble Bee Foods, LLC — renowned as for its Bumble Bee canned tuna products — filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Thursday, years following a Department of Justice investigation which found evidence of a massive price-fixing scheme by the San Diego-based company.
Taiwanese fish supply chain company FCF Co. plans to put in a $925 million bid for the assets in a deal to be completed within 90 days, CNN reported.
“It’s been a challenging time for our company but today’s actions allow us to move forward with minimal disruption to our day-to-day operations,” Bubble Bee president and CEO Jan Tharp said in a statement.
A staple of American kitchen for over a century, the Bumble Bee brand has been in troubled waters over the past few years.