Philippines: According to the preliminary data from the Fisheries Situation Report released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) for January to December 2022, the Philippines’ fisheries sector produced 4.3 million metric tons of fish and fishery products, reflecting a growth of 2.2 % in comparison to the previous year’s output.

This growth is shared by the various fisheries subsectors, with the biggest share garnered by the aquaculture sector (54.1%), and followed by the marine municipal (21.8%), the commercial fisheries (20.0%) and inland municipal (4.0%) sub sectors.

Of the 20 major species, five species were noted to have recorded increases in production, namely, seaweed (15%), skipjack (5.6%), yellowfin tuna (14.1%) squid (22.9%) and bigeye scad (4.5%).

Source: www.bfar.da.gov.ph

https://www.bfar.da.gov.ph/2023/02/21/2022-fisheries-production-volume-up-by-2-2/

China: On February 14, the High-quality Development Promotion Conference of Pelagic Fisheries (squid and tuna)  was held in Zhanjiang City, Guangdong Province. Ma Youxiang, Vice Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, attended the meeting and delivered a speech.

The meeting pointed out that since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the country's distant water fishery has actively promoted the transformation of the mode and structure, and has achieved remarkable results in terms of industrial scale, governance capacity, and foreign cooperation. Over the past ten years, pelagic fishery production has developed steadily, and the level of standardization and greening has been significantly improved, making positive contributions to enriching the domestic aquatic product market and promoting the economic development of partner countries.

The meeting emphasized that it is necessary to fully implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the Central Economic Work Conference and the Central Rural Work Conference, accurately grasp the new situation and new requirements faced by the distant water fishery, insist on making progress while maintaining stability, stabilize the scale of development, optimize the structural layout, and improve the development policy:

• It is necessary to promote the development of the entire industrial chain and large-scale aggregation, improve quality and efficiency, and cultivate modern ocean-going fishery enterprises.
• It is necessary to continue to strengthen standardized management, continue to carry out supervision and improvement actions, and strengthen the safety supervision of distant water fisheries.
• It is necessary to strengthen the training of practitioners, promote the construction of observers and other talent teams, and enhance the ability to perform contracts.
• It is necessary to insist on independent fishing moratoriums on the high seas, strengthen resource conservation, deepen multilateral and bilateral fishery cooperation, and promote the sustainable development of distant water fisheries.

 Chen Liangxian, a member of the Party Leadership Group of the Guangdong Provincial Government, attended the meeting and delivered a speech. Central Foreign Affairs Office, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Security, Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Commerce, General Administration of Customs, China Coast Guard, relevant departments, bureaus and institutions of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, relevant provinces (autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government) and fishery authorities of cities under separate state planning , representatives of fisheries-related universities, scientific research institutions and social organizations attended the meeting.

Source: FIS (Economic Daily News-translate from original )

MALAYSIA:The temporary employment visit pass (PLKS) fee for foreign fishermen has been reduced to RM320 per person in the agricultural sector for the first six months.

The Department of Fisheries Malaysia (DOF) in a statement today said this is one of the government's efforts through the collaboration of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (MAFS), the Home Ministry, the Immigration Department and DOF to assist local fishing vessel operators in the implementation of PLKS for foreign fishing crew members.

According to the statement, the age limit for foreign fishermen entering the country for the first time has also been set at 60 years where this exemption is given specifically to the capture fisheries sector.

"MAFS projects the number of foreign fishing crew members needed for the year 2023 (first quarter) in Peninsular Malaysia to be around 17,486. To date, the PLKS of 10,063 foreign fishermen have been approved.

"Overall, 24,549 foreign fishermen are needed in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan.  Their employment approval is subject to Section 60K, Employment Act 1955," read the statement.

Foreign fishing crews are required to have the PLKS documentations on  Jan 1 last year, in accordance with the gazette on the Passport (Exemption) (No. 2) (Amendment) Order 2021 and the Immigration (Exemption) (Amendment) Order 2021 on 28 May 2021.

In the statement the DOF said it was actively working to increase the participation of local workers to reduce the dependence on foreign workers in the capture fisheries sector through various initiatives and training programmes.

However, it said permission to employ foreign fishermen has been given to operators of fishing vessels with a load of 40 gross register tonnage (GRT) and above, especially anchovy trawlers, zone C vessels (operating more than 12 nautical miles from the coast), zone C2 vessels (more than 30 nautical miles) and zone C3 vessels (to catch tuna in the Indian Ocean).

Source: BERNAMA