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.
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After U.S. President Donald Trump instituted new rounds of tariffs on Chinese goods starting early this year, Chinese customs authorities in the east coast city of Taizhou – a key seafood export hub – have pivoted to help local seafood firms increase their exports to Southeast Asia, the E.U., and the Middle East.
Though the trade war between the U.S. and China has temporarily cooled off, customs authorities made the move in order to
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Ugandan Nile perch is suffering a global identity crisis, according to Sudheendra Kashyap, the head of sales for the Americas at Uganda-based seafood-processing and -exporting firm Lake Bounty Group.
Kashyap told SeafoodSource at the 2025 Seafood Expo Global, which took place 6 to 8 May in Barcelona, Spain, that many overseas buyers are misnaming or misrepresenting the fish as barramundi or sea bass, which are often considered more premium
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A leading Chinese tuna processor sees scope for more sales in Europe for its products as prices begin to improve.
Pingtai Rong Ocean Fishery Co. is seeking customers in Europe for its tuna cuts, Eric Wang, assistant manager of the company’s business development department, told SeafoodSource during the 2025 Seafood Expo Global – which ran from 6 to 8 May in Barcelona, Spain.
“The prices we’ve been getting for tuna have
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A Chinese government-funded research program is backing what it has termed a “key special project” to test the effectiveness of new lighting used to draw squid to the country’s trawlers.
Titled “Intelligent Equipment and Technology for High-Quality Fishing in Ocean Light-Attracted Fisheries,” the research program is being delivered by staff at Shanghai Ocean University under China’s National Key R&D
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A project co-funded by the European Union is aiming to significantly expand Ireland’s network of marine protected areas (MPAs) as part of the United Nations’ target of protecting 30 percent of the world’s lands and oceans by 2030.
With E.U. backing, the EUR 25 million (USD 27.2 million) MPA Life project is being carried out by a consortium of Irish universities and state agencies and will “examine and develop area-based
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The Chinese government recently intervened in the sale of a Hong Kong-based port operator’s assets to a U.S. investor – a move that has delayed the deal and underlined the importance the nation places on maintaining maritime assets, especially if they serve as important bases for its distant-water fleet.
Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison sought to sell its port division to a consortium led by New York-headquartered investment firm
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Europe’s fisheries sector is hoping to use a defense pact soon to be under negotiation between the E.U. and U.K. as leverage to improve upon a post-Brexit trade deal made between the two sides and gain greater access to lucrative fishing grounds.
The two sides will meet at a summit on 19 May in London, U.K., to discuss defense and economic cooperation amid global uncertainty. Some E.U. coastal states said they hope the summit will
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Chinese tilapia producers, processors, and exporters are sounding the alarm after U.S. buyers have asked to hold their shipments in the wake of tariffs initiated by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump.
“[U.S. buyers] do not want to pass along the tariff increases to their customers. They are looking for new suppliers for tilapia outside of China,” a tilapia processor in Southern China who requested to remain
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