They took this action after reviewing a new scientific assessment showing this sardine population dropped 33 per cent from the previous year and has been in continuous decline over the past six years, while recruitment is the lowest it has been in the last two decades.
While catch levels will be lower in 2013 than in 2012, the fishery council ignored increasing catch rates by Canada and Mexico; ignored warnings from scientists that the stock is collapsing; and failed to account for the importance of sardines as prey for whales, seabirds and other fish like salmon and tuna, Oceana wrote.
“They rubber stamped the 2013 catch levels based on a formula they know is flawed,” said Geoff Shester, California Programme Director for Oceana. “It is frankly unbelievable, that the Council recognizes its current management is outdated and needs to be revised, yet year after year they continue to set quotas that are driving the population to collapse.”
A study published earlier this year in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that the Pacific sardine population is collapsing. The scientists, including authors from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), said that managers may be making the same mistakes all over again that led to the major population crash in the late 1940s that was made famous by Steinbeck’s Cannery Row.
The scientists found a “critical” threshold in the population level, below which it is at risk of severe collapse. The stock assessment reviewed by the council shows the sardine population has now dropped below that threshold.
“It is high time for the NMFS to change the way Pacific sardine fisheries are managed,” said Ben Enticknap, Pacific Project Manager for Oceana. “They have the science and the technology to do it right, but they refuse to consider new options.”
Pacific sardine are a critical food source for innumerable marine species including fish that support other recreationally and commercially important fisheries. These small fish also support one of the top three west coast fisheries by volume.
In 2011 west coast sardine landings were worth over USD 9.7 million, yet their value left in the water may be much more. Most sardines caught off the west coast are exported as aquaculture feeds or bait.
Shester explains, “The current catch levels are set without considering how much needs to be left in the ocean to support a healthy food web, and without considering other recreationally and commercially important fish species that need to eat sardine to thrive. Ultimately, this hurts not only the sardine stock, but coastal communities and ocean wildlife.”
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) The year 2025 marks the 30th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and the United States (1995–2025). In parallel with the nation's progress in international economic integration, bilateral seafood trade has followed a remarkably impressive growth trajectory, expanding from an initial scale of just tens of millions of US dollars to nearly $2 billion annually. This growth has positioned the United States as Vietnam’s largest seafood export market for many consecutive years.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) On December 12, 2025, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Processing and Export (VASEP) issued document 231/CV-VASEP regarding strengthening measures to combat IUU fishing and working with the Government to lift the EC's IUU yellow card warning.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Tilapia is easy to farm and provides high economic and nutritional value, making it a sought-after export commodity in many countries.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s seafood exports in the first 10 months of 2025 recorded significant progress, reaching more than USD 9.5 billion, up 15% year-on-year. This result reflects the sector’s persistent efforts amid a highly volatile market, especially policy shocks from the US Although signs of slowdown emerged in the third quarter due to countervailing taxes, key product groups still maintained strong momentum and created a foundation for full-year exports to reach USD 11 billion.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s agreement with the United States on a framework for reciprocal, fair, and balanced trade—reached during the 2025 ASEAN Summit in Malaysia—has generated strong optimism for Vietnamese exports, including tuna. Numerous positive points in the joint statement have raised high expectations for Vietnamese export goods, but turning these expectations into tangible benefits remains a long and challenging journey.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) At the conference on “Linking the Production and Consumption Chain of Ca Mau Crab 2025,” Vice Chairman of the Ca Mau Provincial People’s Committee Lê Văn Sử posed a central question: how to shift the province’s crab exports toward official trade channels, instead of relying heavily on small-scale border trade with China as currently practiced.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) The whitefish market in Japan is showing a clear divergence among supplying countries, in which Vietnam continues to affirm its role as a stable and high-potential exporter. Vietnam currently ranks third after the US and Russia in whitefish export value to Japan. Thanks to tariff incentives and the ability to meet Japan’s strict standards, Vietnamese pangasius continues to record a stable and positive growth trend.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) The People's Committee of Ca Mau Province has just issued a plan to expand the super-intensive, low-water-exchange, biosecure white-leg shrimp farming model (RAS-IMTA) for whiteleg shrimp farming to a scale of 1,500 hectares, aiming to develop high-tech, sustainable and environmentally friendly shrimp farming.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Sa Giang Import-Export Joint Stock Company (HNX: SGC) plans to issue over 7.1 million shares to raise nearly 465 Billion VND for Hoan Ngoc M&A Deal.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) According to Rabobank, global tilapia production is forecast to exceed 7 million tons in 2025, driven by a strong recovery in major producing countries including China, Indonesia, Egypt, Bangladesh and Vietnam. Among them, Vietnam is emerging as a potential tilapia supplier in the global supply chain, capitalizing on market fluctuations to expand production and exports.
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