The Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (MMAF) has successfully facilitated Indonesia to be a state member of Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), rewarding the country a strategic value. By becoming a member of WCPFC, Indonesia has a stronger bargaining point in the tuna management and habitat utilization for Indonesia. This was conveyed by the Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, Sharif C. Sutardjo in Jakarta, on March 19.

(vasep.com.vn) In some recent years, shortage of raw material (including pangasius and tuna) for processing and exporting is a persistent concern to enterprises. There has not been a radical solution for the problem yet.

(vasep.com.vn) Vietnam has started fishing ocean tuna since 1994. The main species are yellowfin tuna, bigeye tuna, skipjack tuna with fish stocks up to 600,000 MT. Yellowfin and bigeye tuna have an average stock of more than 45,000 MT and an allowable fish catch of about 20,000 per year. Skipjack tuna has abundant stock with allowable catch of 200,000 per year.

(ISSF blog) Overcapacity is a major threat to the sustainability of tuna resources

(vasep.com.vn) According to International Trade Center (ITC), Spain continued to be the biggest supplier of canned tuna of Italy, accounting for 33.56 percent of total imports. In 2013, Spain sent 30 thousand MT of products to this market, worth US$234 million.

A recent meeting of over 20 stock assessment scientists from the Asia–Pacific region heard that the scientific assessment of tunas in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO) continues to be hampered by some fishing states not making data available to scientists.

(vasep.com.vn) With the population of 80 million people, Germany, a major importer in Europe, is taking interest in Vietnam goods, including seafood. At present, up to 84 percent of German households are eating seafood, including tuna because German people are shifting to a low-fat and healthy diet.

Japan’s frozen yellowfin imports plummeted a dramatic 44 percent in August 2013 compared to August 2012. Volume dropped from 4,026 tons to just 2,228 tons for the same month year on year.

German buyers have strongly increased their imports of canned tuna so far this year. Ecuador has taken the top spot for supplying canned tuna to Germany from January to July this year, followed by Philippines, Papua New Guinea and Vietnam. The South American country has strengthened its position from standing in third place in 2012.

The 24 nations in the commission tasked with managing the Pacific tuna fishery are still struggling to come up with conservation measures to protect the Pacific tuna fishery.

Strong growth in the presence of seafood carrying the MSC eco-label has been revealed in a recent store check of EU supermarkets. In some supermarkets, at least 60 percent of frozen seafood checked displayed the logo, with increasing penetration also visible across the canned seafood sector. In all major wild seafood groups compared, the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) eco-label had the least presence on canned and frozen tuna.

(vasep.com.vn) In the first 9 months of 2013, Vietnam tuna exports reached US$414.763million, down 4.5 percent from that of the same period of 2012.

(vasep.com.vn) This was one of the key orientations in the draft project on reorganizing the tuna production chain conducted by Vietnam Directorate of Fisheries (D-Fish).

(vasep.com.vn) In the first 9 months of 2013, Vietnam exported its tuna to 23 European markets, representing an increase from that of the same period of 2012 (20 markets) and earning back US$106 million, up 31 percent year-on-year.

Tuna production industry began in