This week the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA) launched the exchange program with five African nations to “enhance cooperation and promote the sharing of expertise and best practices in the fight against IUU fishing.” The EU has tuna fishing and trade deals with these countries – Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania, and Tunisia — which are the participants of the program. The initiative is carried out under the E-FishMed project which was adopted in 2021 to fight IUU fishing and implement the ICCAT conservation and management measures. The exchange program is held in Madrid from April 15 to 19.

Fisheries inspectors and monitoring center operators of the African nations will visit the Spanish Fisheries Monitoring Center and participate in several sessions to get a detailed understanding of the topic and best practices. The participants will take part as observers in fishery inspection activities in Málaga. The E-FishMed project is supported by France, Italy, Malta, Portugal, and Spain. EFCA, based in Vigo, is an EU agency that coordinates the national operational activities in the area of fisheries and assists the member states in their application of the Common Fisheries Policy.

Thai Union-owned Norwegian canned seafood producer King Oscar has appointed Lara Berman as its new Director of Marketing and Business Development in the US. She joins the brand from her previous role as Senior Brand Manager for Thai Union’s Chicken of the Sea (COS). King Oscar is well-known among American tuna consumers for its premium yellowfin products in jars.

Berman worked at Nestlé for five years from June 2015 to June 2020, and was the Associate Marketing Manager for Coffee Creamers when she resigned from the post. She joined as the Brand Manager for Genova Premium Tuna in June 2020 and was later promoted to Senior Brand Manager of COS in October 2022. “Can’t wait to make some moves with King Oscar Premium Seafood and the amazing team in the US and Bergen, Norway. Great things to come! Here is to many more exciting days and big wins ahead!” she posted on her LinkedIn. King Oscar has been a part of Thai Union Group since 2014.

The Philippine Coast Guard recently arrested 35 crew members from two purse seiners who were illegally fishing for tuna and other seafood near Magsaysay town in Palawan. The government has banned purse seining in these waters. The sailors were apprehended on the morning of April 11 from the vessels ‘F/V Spring Beauty’ and ‘F/V Lotus 02’ after receiving information from the Coast Guard Intelligence Group-Palawan. Both boats are not registered in the WCPFC registry.

The Philippines banned the usage of some fishing gears such as Danish seine gear, locally called ‘buli buli’ (since 2013), ‘pangulong’ which is a small purse seine, and ‘taksay,’ a small trawler to catch tuna and other seafood, due to environmental concerns and the impact on the livelihoods of small-scale fishermen. The Coast Guard handed over the crew and vessels to the Municipal Agriculture Office of Magsaysay, Palawan, for appropriate charges and disposition, but did not reveal which gear was used by the illegal fishers.