The Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) finished a week-long meeting in Guam agreeing on a temporary step that weakens existing protections in areas of international waters -- the Pacific Commons -- and will not help stop the decline of bigeye tuna, Greenpeace explains.
Taiwan voted against the initiative, which was mainly pushed through by South Korea and the US, but Taiwan’s unwillingness to develop with a rescue plan demonstrated its weakness on the issue, Greenpeace says, CNA reports.
“As the member owning the most fishing vessels in the area, Taiwan’s Fisheries Agency should take a leading role to actively guide the commission toward applying sustainable methods, instead of passively waiting for the decisions,” Greenpeace East Asia senior ocean campaigner Kao Yu-fen said.
Most of New Zealand’s canned tuna comes from the Pacific Ocean and all Pacific tuna stocks are in decline, especially bigeye and yellowfin. Scientists have advised that fishing needs to be cut by half to allow bigeye tuna to recover. Skipjack tuna, the most common species used in canned products, is also under threat.
According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), more and more bigeye tuna are being fished with no adequate action in place to reverse the decline. Precautionary conservation measures to protect yellowfin stocks, which are under increasing pressure, were also dismissed.
“This meeting unraveled protection for the region’s tuna populations. This is a disappointing step backward. The Pacific region relies on tuna for food, jobs and economic prosperity and the commission’s decisions go against the wants and needs of the region’s people, the world’s consumers, and forward-thinking businesses,” said Karli Thomas, Greenpeace New Zealand oceans campaigner.
WCPFC did not agree on extending closures of the Pacific Commons, increasing bans on a destructive fishing practice that combines Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs) and purse seine nets and a cut in longline fishing.
The highlighted areas 1, 2 and 3 and 4 are the high seas pockets. Pockets 1 and 2 are closed to purse seine fishing from 2010 as per WCPFC decision in December 2008. (Map: Greenpeace)
WWF strongly urges WCPFC Member States to move to support the implementation of the precautionary approach to fisheries management: Adopt harvest control rules and reference points in line with international best practice for tuna stocks; Strengthen regulations on bycatch species impacted by tuna fishing; Reduce fishing capacity in line with long-term sustainable yields.
Despite this outcome, Thomas said there was an increasing global demand for responsibly sourced tuna. Last week, Greenpeace released its report ‘Changing Tuna,’ outlining progress taken by tuna companies around the globe to save Pacific tuna; it highlights NZ retailer Foodstuffs, which has changed most of its Pams range to sustainably caught tuna.
Last week, US retail giant Safeway joined other retailers by pledging not to source tuna from the Pacific Commons for its private brand canned tuna.
(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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