An Indonesian fishing vessel suspected of illegally fishing in Australian waters has been apprehended off north-west Western Australia in an operation undertaken by the AustralianBorder Force (ABF) Maritime Border Command (MBC) and the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA). 

On 22nd June, the vessel was first detected by MBC aerial surveillance approximately 27 nautical miles south of Browse Island inside the Australian Fishing Zone (AFZ). MBC, a multi-agency taskforce within the ABF, continued its monitoring and sighted the vessel actively fishing inside the AFZ from 22–25th June.

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Posted on - 2019-07-07

The new head of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations has played a central role in expanding China’s global seafood reach and will now get to shape key global policies on agriculture, aquaculture, and fisheries. 

China Vice Minister for Agriculture Qu Dongyu won the support of a majority of FAO nation-states, defeating France’s Catherine Geslain-Laneelle 107-71 in an election during the 41st session of the FAO Conference, which took place 22 to 29 June.  Qu becomes the ninth director-general of the Rome, Italy-based organization. 

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Posted on - 2019-07-07

Governments have approved programmes and projects worth almost $1 billion to tackle growing threats to the natural world - and to help some of the Earth's most vulnerable people adapt to climate change - at two consecutive Global Environment Facility (GEF) meetings in Washington DC this week.

They range from an ambitious $232 million integrated programme aimed at a “transformational shift in the agriculture and land use systems that are major drivers of environmental degradation around the world” to helping fishing people in Timor-Leste, improving the management of soils in Caribbean islands, and tackling the illegal world wildlife trade.

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Posted on - 2019-07-02