Mark Godfrey is an Irish journalist covering the agriculture and fisheries sectors in Asia, with a focus on China. Proficient in Mandarin, he has frequently traveled across China's fisheries and aquaculture regions and learned the inner workings of China's corporate world during a nearly three-year stint at the Financial Times' “China Confidential” publication. He has also reported widely across Southeast Asia and the former Soviet Union. He has educational certificates in agriculture and food science, as well as Mandarin.
Author Archive
Distant-water subsidies recently offered by multiple Chinese coastal cities run counter to efforts by China’s central government to control the country’s sprawling global fleet and limit IUU fishing, according to François Mosnier, the head of the Oceans Program at think tank Planet Tracker.
Earlier this summer, the Zhangzhou fishing port in the southern Chinese province of Fujian announced a CNY 40 million (USD 5.6 million,
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New research shows that China will soon spend much more money on scientific research and development (R&D) initiatives compared to the U.S. and that the gap is likely to continue growing.
James Goodrich, a senior technology analysis advisor for the RAND Corporation and a fellow at the University of California Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation, recently published research showing China is now projected to spend USD 42 billion (EUR
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The Irish government is considering scrapping a planned bill expanding marine protected areas (MPAs), instead accomplishing the same goal through changes to existing marine planning legislation.
The bill in question would designate 30 percent of Ireland’s territorial waters as MPAs in line with global goals, but some members of the Irish government have suggested that the nation’s Maritime Area Planning Act, which was enacted in
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A leading Chinese scholar claims the country’s annual fishing moratorium has been effective in restoring fish stocks, but is being ignored and misrepresented by foreign countries.
Wang Tengfei, an assistant research fellow at the Institute of Maritime Law and Policy, National Institute of South China Sea Studies, said the annual fishing ban in the South China Sea and most of the East China Sea has shown proven benefits. China has imposed
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A Kazakhstani regional governor is seeking Chinese aid to revive his area’s caviar industry.
Nurdaulet Kilybay, the governor of the southwestern Kazakhstan region of Mangystau, which borders the Caspian Sea, recently traveled to China in an attempt to find partners that have an interest in developing sturgeon farms in the Central Asian country.
The trip was fruitful, as Kilybay secured a signed memorandum of cooperation with Gansu Joy
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In July, China announced plans to eliminate all tariffs on imports of African goods.
Responding to the move, countries like Somalia are drastically trying to improve their infrastructure so that they can properly take advantage of the new policy.
“This policy change holds great potential for Somali seafood exports. However, realizing a significant increase in exports will depend on addressing several critical enablers, particularly in
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China now has nearly double the krill-fishing capacity of Norway, which is the next top krill-fishing nation in the world, according to Tharos, a Chile-based krill-fishing consultancy firm.
According to Tharos data, China’s krill-fishing fleet has grown to 21,707 metric tons (MT) in carrying capacity. By contrast, the scale of Norway’s krill fleet is 11,388 MT, including the 3,000 MT of capacity expected from the Jan Mayen vessel
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Papua New Guinea’s National Fisheries Authority has opened a cold-storage and distribution facility in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou.
The facility will serve as a direct distribution point for species caught off Papua New Guinea like crab, lobster, shrimp, and reef fish and marks the latest move deepening ties between the Oceanic nation and China.
“This partnership between the National Fisheries Authority and the Guangzhou
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Norwegian aquaculture firm Norcod is planning to launch a new sashimi product within the Chinese market this fall.
“We are combining our Snow Cod with salmon in a fresh, ready-to-eat Norwegian sashimi format,” Norcod COO Chris Guldberg told SeafoodSource.
Norcod touts its premium Snow Cod as having a firm texture and white, even-looking meat that provides “a clean and delicate flavor,” and the announcement of the fall
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