PR of CHINA:  The China Fisheries and Seafood Expo scheduled for Nov. 9 -12 has been cancelled because of ongoing concerns that mass events will fuel the spread of COVID 19 in China.

The show was originally scheduled for October, but was postponed to November in hopes the COVID restrictions would be eased in Quingdao, where the event was to take place. No new dates have been set for the event.

On the show's website, Peter Redmayne, president of Sea Fare Expositions, the overseas organizer of the event, said "the new dates for the show will be determined when the COVID situation improves and large trade shows such as China Fisheries & Seafood Expo can again be held in Qingdao."

More than 1,200 companies from 30 countries have signed up to exhibit at the event. An estimated 22,000 visitors from throughout China are expected to attend.

Source: INTRAFISH

VIETNAM: A meeting between Vietnamese and European officials to discuss the country's yellow card.

The European Commission is planning to conduct another inspection to check Vietnam’s progress in combating illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

E.C. Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (MARE) IUU Fisheries Policy Unit Head Roberto Cesari was in Vietnam on 28 October, wrapping up the most-recent site visit, when he announced his team would be returning within six months for a follow-up appointment.

Vietnam was first issued a yellow card from the European Union in October 2017 after the European Commission determined it had not done enough to discourage IUU fishing. Since its imposition, the E.U. has been conducting a review of Vietnam’s fisheries-related policies to determine which route it will take out of three options available to it: maintaining the country’s yellow card status, issuing a red card banning all seafood imports from Vietnam to the E.U., or rescinding the yellow card and resuming normal trading relations.

In a meeting with Vietnam Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh, Cesari said Vietnam had made significant advancements in its efforts against IUU fishing, with the country’s central government level making significant changes in its regulations and policies. Cesari also said his delegation noted great progress in information transparency and capacity-building for fisheries managers in 28 coastal localities at which they performed random inspections. However, implementation at the grassroots level is still weak, with arrests of Vietnamese fishermen in the exclusive economic zones of other countries still a common occurrence.

Cesari called on Vietnam to continue to push to implement effective monitoring of its fleet and to ensure consistent and synchronous enforcement from the central to the local level. He also called on Vietnam to toughen its penalties against IUU, to ensure it has enough policing capacity to enforce deterrence efforts, and to severely punish violations. Cesari also called for Vietnam to formulate a national management plan for its aquatic resources and to tighten its import controls concerning aquatic materials for export processing.

According to a statement from the Vietnamese government, Thanh told Cesari Vietnam has been doing its best to implement the E.C.'s recommendations, such as implementing marine conservation protocols, allocating quotas for fishing permits, and implementing a plan to gradually reduce the country’s overall fishing effort.

He called on the E.U. member-countries to continue to provide technical assistance to aid Vietnam’s own efforts, and to commit to removing its yellow card.

Source: https://www.seafoodsource.com/

PHILIPPINES: A Filipino has been elected chairman of the International Network of Women Engineers and Scientists-Asia Pacific Nation Network (Inwes-APNN), one of the most respected global organizations of women engineers and scientists.

Juana Tapel, an engineer with a PhD and assistant director of the Bureau of Agricultural and Fisheries Engineering (BAFE), was elected as the new chairman of the Inwes-APNN during the organization’s annual general assembly held at the Institution of Engineers Malaysia in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia on Oct. 14, 2022. BAFE is an agency under the Department of Agriculture.

She also received the highest number of votes in an online voting participated by Asia-Pacific nations representatives. Tapel is the very first Filipino to be voted to the position.

As the chairman of the Philippine Technological Council-Women Engineers Network for seven years, Tapel is the country’s official representative to Inwes-APNN, a platform for Asian women scientists and engineers to exchange information such as Asian women scientists’ organizations and policies, and the current technology situation in every member country.

As the fifth chairman of the organization, Tapel will succeed Ariunbolor Purvee of Mongolia when she starts her three-year term of office next year. Previous chairpersons of the organization were Hyang Sook Yoo of South Korea, Kayoko Sugahara of Japan and Chia-li Wu of Taiwan.

“For a three-year term, Tapel will lead the Inwes-APNN from 2023 to 2026. Dr. Tapel’s election is expected to boost the Philippines’ bid to host the International Conference of Women Engineers and Scientists (Icwes) in 2026,” BAFE said in a statement.

Established in 1964, Icwes is an international conference for engineers and scientists that takes place every three years in different countries around the world.

Meanwhile, Inwes has three other regional counterparts for Africa, Europe and Middle East-North Africa.

Source: www.manilatimes.net/