Fishermen in Malaysia will soon be required to use facial recognition technology to buy government-subsidised diesel as part of a new security system to prevent subsidy misappropriation, according to the Agriculture and Food Security Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu said . The system, under development by the Fisheries Development Authority of Malaysia (LKIM), is expected to be operational by September 2025. The new system aims to enhance security at sales centres and will be integrated with handheld devices used by Fishermen's Associations at Subsidised Diesel Sales Centres (PJD) in the retail sale of diesel. Currently, 70 million litres of subsidised…

The National Fisheries Authority (NFA) is set to launch a Tuna Domestication Strategy and an updated National Tuna Fisheries Management Plan this year to strengthen sustainable management of Papua New Guinea's tuna sector. A major outcome will be a reduction in bilateral fleet operations, with offshore processing being phased out in favor of increasing onshore processing. NFA Managing Director Justin Ilakini emphasized that this transition is already in progress, with a gradual rise in the proportion of tuna caught and processed onshore. The NFA aims to move beyond current expectations of 10% landings from locally-based foreign vessels and 25% from…

Synbiotic technology, which combines prebiotics and probiotics, has proven to be highly beneficial for shrimp farmers, significantly increasing climate-tolerant shrimp production, often doubling or more in regions like Bangladesh. Research led by Dr. Sayed Hafizur Rahman of Jahangirnagar University, supported by the Sustainable Coastal and Marine Fisheries (SCMF) Project, found that this technology improves shrimp farming environments by enhancing water quality, eliminating harmful bacteria, boosting beneficial bacteria, strengthening shrimp immunity, and increasing production. The technology is applied both in shrimp feed and pond water, resulting in a lower feed conversion ratio (FCR) and reduced production costs. It is widely used…

The Japanese government is committed to continuously supporting the fishery sector in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), in partnership with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and BARMM's Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Agrarian Reform (MAFAR). Japan has provided a $4.79-million grant to help develop the aquaculture and fishery industries in the Bangsamoro region, which supplies 30% of the country's fish production and is among the top suppliers of fish and marine products of the country. However, the region faces challenges such as high post-harvest losses, declining production, and underutilized waters, which are impacting the…