OTHER MEDIA | The Guardian: ‘A fishing accident blinded me but I was forced to keep working’: abuses faced by workers who catch our fish
UNITED KINGDOM
Thursday, March 14, 2024
The following is an excerpt from an article published by The Guardian:
Negligence, physical and verbal abuse are common in unregulated industry. Now labor groups and government officials are trying to crack down
Labor groups and government officials are pushing to rein in rampant abuses of workers in the fishing industry, where migrant laborers are frequently subjected to slavery and violence from employers.
One out of every five fish is caught through illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in conditions where abuses of workers are common, according to a United Nations estimate. About 128,000 workers are thought to be currently trapped in forced labor on remote fishing vessels around the world, according to the International Labour Organization.
Child labor or forced labor has been documented in the production of fish, dried fish, shellfish and shrimp in 20 countries, according to the US Department of Labor.
In one case, a worker was blinded in one eye after a fishing line snapped. He said the ship’s captain forced him to carry on working instead of seeking medical help.
Thea Lee, the deputy secretary for international labor affairs at the US Department of Labor, told the Guardian the government agency was pushing to close enforcement gaps, promote guidance for marine authorities and inspectors to look for labor violations, and utilize the purchasing power of the US government to push for changes in seafood supply chains. [...]
Author: Michael Sainato | Read the full article by clicking the link here
Vietnam's seafood exports in the first 3 months of 2024 reached 837 million USD, up 5% over the same period in 2022. Japan, America, Korea, China & HK, Thailand, and Russia are the 6 largest import markets for Vietnamese seafood during this period.
Author/Source: Nguyen Ha / VASEP (translated from original in Vietnamese)
By March 2024, imports of frozen boiled whelk meat were 354 tons, down 12% from 403 tons in the same period last year, and the average import unit price was at USD 11.36/kg, up 8.5% from USD 10.47/kg in 2023.
The main exporters of its are the UK and Ireland, with 245 tons or 69.2% of the total coming from the UK and 109 tons imported from Ireland.
The total import value was USD 40.21 million, down from USD 42.2 million in 2023, and the average import unit price was formed at USD 11.36/kg, up 8.5% from USD 10.47/kg in the same period last year.
The average import unit price in the UK is USD 1.15/kg, and Irish is formed at USD 11.83/kg, and the use of frozen boiled whelk meat is divided into sales, manufacturing its own products, and re-export, but many of them are used to manufacture its own products.
“Everything that is preyed on at mile 201, from a biological point of view, is as if it were preyed on at mile 199, within the EEZ of Argentina”
“Argentina must work on the creation of a South Atlantic Conservation Commission. If progress is not made in regulating what is currently an environmental and human rights crime, soon we will not have species to protect because the fishing ground will have collapsed, something that has not yet happened by miracle." "Argentina is already a member of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR/CCAMLR), where it votes and approves the allocation of capture quotas within the Georgias and Sandwich Islands, which are Argentine EEZ according to the National Constitution, therefore there is no aspect "that affects the claim of sovereignty over the Malvinas that prevents the creation of a fishing conservation and regulation area in international waters, where there is no sovereignty dispute, but there is an environmental tragedy."
Mentioned Milko Schvartzman, expert in marine conservation and illegal fishing.
Innovasea, a global leader in technologically advanced aquatic solutions for aquaculture and fish tracking, is now offering land-based aquaculture solutions to the Chilean aquaculture industry. For more than 30 years, Innovasea has been providing precision aquaculture tools and professional services around the world to support ocean and land-based aquaculture, including recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS).
Unloadings of fresh fishing in Spanish ports have stood at 26,071 tons in the first three months of the year, 15.8% less than in the same period of 2023, according to provisional data released this Tuesday by State Ports. Of the fishing ports, eleven recorded increases in landings in the first quarter and eleven decreases in catches.
In volume, the port of Vigo continues to be the first in downloads, with 6,631 tons and a decline of 7.6%; followed by Pasaia (Guipúzcoa), with 4,288 tons and a drop of 36.8%. For its part, A Coruña has dropped from 5,031 tons to 3,597.
The largest percentage increase in downloads has corresponded to the port of Malaga, with 136.9% compared to the first quarter of 2023, while the greatest decline has occurred in Ceuta, with 100% less (0 tons).
Following the publication of the report by the Environmental Justice Foundation, EJF, on the systematic abuses committed on board the Asian country's fleet in the southwestern Indian Ocean between 2017 and 2023, the Spanish tuna fleet grouped in Opagac has asked the European Union to take action. “If the EU allows imports of fish caught by this fleet for the consumption of European citizens, it is becoming an accomplice in this type of crime,” denounces Julio Morón, managing director of Opagac. "The time has come to act decisively against a fleet supported mainly by government subsidies, whose growth and practices are uncontrolled, as the EJF report corroborates, and which, furthermore, represents a serious threat to fish stocks and coastal communities in the areas in which it operates, generally economically vulnerable and highly dependent on its fishing resources.”
Source: Industrias Pesqueras l Read the full article here
A new network has been created to support the next generation of fishermen – the first of its kind in the UK.
The Young Fishermen Network has been set up by young fishermen from Cornwall.
It aims to encourage new entrants into the industry and champion career progression for existing commercial fishermen under 40.
Around 60 people attended the network’s inaugural event at a net loft in Porthleven Harbour this month. Author: Oliver McBride / The Fishing Daily l Read the full article here
New Label Rouge rules will enable bigger fish to be sold under prestigious mark
New rules have been agreed that will enable Scottish farmers to sell more prestigious ‘Label Rouge’ salmon in France and other European markets.
The French quality mark, which comes with a stringent set of standards, has been updated to allow farmers to implement modern solutions to improve salmon health and welfare while maintaining taste and quality. Changes includes the ability to export larger fish of between six and eight kilograms, paving the way for increased sales of premium salmon – particularly in the sushi sector.
Source: fishfarmingexpert l Read the full article here
The wild bluefin tuna fishery in southwestern Spain, which has a 3,000-year history dating back to ancient Roman times, will soon welcome a new catch.
The large-scale emplacement has already been completed and the first captures could be seen later this month. Tokyo Seafoods Co., Ltd. (Chuo-ku, Tokyo, president: Ryusei Yamakoshi), a specialized seafood trading company with the largest purchasing share, has been involved in this site for almost 40 years.
To make Japanese consumers more aware of the rare bluefin tuna caught in the Atlantic Ocean, the company plans to actively disseminate information through social networking sites (SNS).
According to Tsuyoshi Sugiura, director of the company's tuna group, Spain's natural bluefin tuna, which is caught in fixed locations on a large scale, is said to have "exceptional natural flavor and color appearance," and is mainly used in Sushi restaurants in Japan. It is said to have strong support not only from consumers but also from some food supermarkets.
STELLENDAM - The sister ships BL 936072 'Madeleine' and BL 937550 'Pax Dei II' together in the dock of Padmos in the Inner Harbor of Stellendam.
The identical cutters under the French flag were built by main contractor Padmos and put into service at the beginning of 2021 and in the summer of 2022 by the De Boer families from Urk and Wattez from France. The skippers of both vessels are the cousins ??of the same name, Teunis de Boer. The first vessel in this series was also for the T. de Boer & Zonen family: the UK 124, also skippered by Teunis de Boer.
A joint docking was planned for next month, but now the dock occupancy has been exchanged with the UK 224, which is undergoing a major refit including repowering at Padmos.
Last week we steamed again to the French home port of Boulogne. The ships fish almost exclusively in the Channel. Due to the strong wind, the majority of the fleet stayed ashore on Monday.
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