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
May 12, 2026
According to Nick Lynch, the CEO of Ashbourne, Ireland-based wholesale firm Nick’s Fish, rising cod prices are testing the limit of what buyers can afford and may soon lead to dropping consumption rates.
Besides dwindling supplies brought on by lowered quotas in key production areas, Lynch told SeafoodSource that prices are more recently being pressured by higher fuel prices for fishers, as well as surcharges applied by… Read More
Published on
May 5, 2026
Ireland’s export promotion agency Bord Bia has begun promoting a new brand of Irish oysters to distinguish domestically produced products from global competition.
Historically, much of Ireland's oyster output has been sold by French firms, some of which have production sites in Ireland, and it is not always abundantly clear that the product comes from Ireland.
To ensure Irish product stands out in the marketplace, Bord Bia, in conjunction with… Read More
Published on
May 4, 2026
In order to sustainably grow its mariculture sector, China should look toward the way Norway has regulated aquaculture growth, according to Huang Zhitao, an aquaculture engineer and researcher at the Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA).
China recently exceeded 100 offshore aquaculture platforms and ships in operation, and the sector has shown no signs of slowing as the nation’s government has made a strategic push to make offshore… Read More
Published on
April 30, 2026
Rising seafood sales to China are helping cushion the blow for Indonesian exporters who have had their shipments to the Middle East disrupted by the ongoing war in Iran.
According to Arie Prabawa, a Jakarta, Indonesia-based seafood sourcing and aquaculture consultant, Chinese demand for fish species like grouper and snapper from Indonesia is “very high” at the moment, while orders to the Middle East have been either delayed or… Read More
Published on
April 20, 2026
Investment banks Morgan Stanley and Barclays have taken shares in China National Fisheries Corporation (CNFC) after the firm’s profits spiked in 2025.
CNFC, which also lists Goldman Sachs and UBS as shareholders, saw its net profits soar 180 percent last year to CNY 83.7 million (USD 12.5 million, EUR 10.8 million).
The firm’s fishing revenue hit CNY 2.3 billion (USD 345 million, EUR 299 million), marking a year-over-year increase of 29.3… Read More
Published on
April 20, 2026
After nationwide protests and blockades of fuel depots, the Irish government has released a EUR 505 million (USD 595 million) emergency fuel support aid package, which includes money set aside specifically for the country’s fishing industry.
Under the scheme, which has been greenlit by the E.U., up to EUR 5 million (USD 5.92 million) per month will be allocated to support the nation’s fishing industry and other sectors affected such as… Read More
Published on
April 13, 2026
Chinese feed company Guangdong Haid has broken ground on a new plant in Vietnam, further consolidating its position as a top feed producer in the Southeast Asian country.
The plant, operated by the company’s subsidiary Yongfu Hailong Agricultural Feeds Co., is undergoing construction in the northern Phu Tho province and is projected to produce 200,000 metric tons (MT) of feed annually for use in local aquaculture, poultry, and pig farming… Read More
Published on
April 8, 2026
The United Nations Agreement on Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement), also widely known as the High Seas Treaty, entered into force in January after crossing the ratification threshold in September 2025.
The Pew Charitable Trusts said the new treaty, which took decades of negotiations to pass, will finally create a mechanism for the world to preserve two-thirds of the ocean lying outside national… Read More
Published on
April 6, 2026
As nearshore and land-based aquaculture operations face more stringent regulations, the Chinese aquaculture sector continues to look offshore for growth opportunities.
According to presenters at the 2026 Deep-Sea Aquaculture Equipment Conference, held in March in Nanjing, China, the nation has exceeded 100 offshore aquaculture platforms and ships in operation.
“The shift offshore is accelerating,” Xuefei Shi, an affiliated researcher at… Read More
Published on
March 30, 2026
The U.S. has reopened its market to all imports of Irish seafood, finding that the country’s aquaculture and wild catch sectors meet stipulations outlined in the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA).
Last year, the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) found 240 foreign fisheries did not comply with MMPA regulations, which meant as of 1 January 2026, products from those fisheries would be banned from entering the U.S. market.
That… Read More
