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
Published on
August 19, 2026
The Irish government is drafting legislation aimed at ending a loophole that allowed aquaculture facilities to indefinitely operate under an expired license while renewals were in the process of being facilitated.
The proposed legislation set to go before Irish Parliament would repeal Section 19A(4) of the nation’s Fisheries Amendment Act of 1997, under which an aquaculture licensee that had applied for a license renewal could continue to… Read More
Published on
August 13, 2026
Guangdong, China-based Jingtang Agriculture recently announced it is nearing completion on a 100,000-ton processing plant in Maoming.
The facility, according to the firm, will produce tilapia feed, seed, and animal health products while also processing fish, aiming to secure greater domestic tilapia market share.
Though Jingtang is celebrating the new facility as providing a “whole industrial value chain” that benefits the local community,… Read More
Published on
August 7, 2026
Shanghai Ocean University has developed a pilot program aimed at helping Chinese squid-fishing firms improve their traceability and, therefore, access premium export markets.
Chen Xinjun, who is the project’s chief researcher and a professor at Shanghai Ocean University, told SeafoodSource that the traceability system uses radio frequency identification tags that are resistant to seawater and low temperatures. Paired with industrial-grade,… Read More
Published on
August 6, 2026
Chinese aquafeed firm Yuehai Feed has opened a major seedling production base in the eastern province of Jiangsu, aiding in China's goal to become self-sufficient in shrimp larvae production.
The new plant will produce seedlings that aim to help the local shrimp industry “reduce costs, increase efficiency, and achieve steady development,” Zheng Zhenlong, the general manager of Yuehai’s new seed subsidiary that will operate the plant, told… Read More
Published on
July 24, 2026
In response to U.S. allegations that China continues to engage in illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has, in turn, accused the U.S. of “a long history of illegal fishing, damaging marine resources, and polluting the marine environment.”
The retaliatory remarks, which also included allegations the U.S. has long exceeded its tuna quotas in the Central and Western Pacific Ocean,… Read More
Published on
July 22, 2026
A new report commissioned by the Irish government has suggested Ireland consider paying a regular income supplement payment to fishermen, helping cushion the sector from fluctuating cuts to fishing quotas.
The report was conducted by independent consultant Kieran Mulvey at the request of Ireland Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food, Fisheries, and the Marine Timmy Dooley, and analyzed the state of the Irish seafood industry.… Read More
Published on
July 21, 2026
Chinese seafood-processing firm Pan Fish has opened a USD 50 million (EUR 43.7 million) seafood processing facility near Qingdao, China.
The plant will boast an annual processing capacity of 60,000 metric tons once its first phase is fully operational. In that first phase, the facility will mainly focus on salmon before broadening into the processing of other imported species like king crab and shrimp.
Tony Chang, the chairman of the firm, which… Read More
Published on
July 20, 2026
Clarification: An earlier version of this article contained information that may have suggested the project is underway. Pingtai Rong has clarified this project is an early preliminary concept, and no formal agreements have been made. This article has been updated to reflect the additional information.
Chinese tuna-fishing firm Pingtai Rong Ocean Fishery Co. said it has explored a project that could see it build a fishery industrial park in… Read More
Published on
July 8, 2026
At the beginning of 2026, the E.U. launched a new digital traceability system it labeled CATCH, which requires digital catch certificates, containing such information as vessel identification numbers, the start date of a fishing trip, gear type, and location of the catch, to be attached to all fishery products entering the E.U.
The system aims to limit products with a possible connection to illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing… Read More
Published on
July 2, 2026
Due to multiple limiting factors, many Filipino fishers seeking litigious action against exploitative labor agencies recruiting for foreign trawling operations have been forced to drop their cases and return to work in similarly manipulative conditions, according to a labor advocacy group in the Philippines.
Joefel Resol, a regional coordinator at the Western Visayas Migrants Network, which is a coalition of organizations representing overseas… Read More
