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
September 22, 2026
Among several new provisions, China’s latest five-year plan for its fisheries sector has outlined science-based approaches to conserving domestic stocks and strategies to tackle labor abuses and illegal fishing practices in its distant-water fishery operations, according to a Chinese fisheries researcher.
Wang Songlin, a marine biologist and the president of the Qingdao Marine Conservation Society (QMCS), told SeafoodSource the plan limits… Read More
Published on
September 10, 2026
Negotiators at the World Trade Organization still working on a deal to end harmful fish subsidies face a new triple challenge as the U.S., India, and Indonesia all oppose the draft text to the latest proposal.
The WTO has been discussing a plan to end subsidies leading to overcapacity and overfishing for multiple years, and the latest round of talks are set to recommence in late September after ending in summer 2025 with parties still working to… Read More
Published on
September 8, 2026
A new seafood processing plant opened by Pan Fish near Qingdao is aiming to bring Norwegian expertise to salmon processing, establishing one of the largest facilities of its kind in the world.
The plant was built from the ground up to mirror similar plants in Norway, and was designed by Thommesen Architecture in Trondheim, Norway – the designer of key processing plants along Norway’s coastline. Thommesen Architecture Managing Director… Read More
Published on
August 26, 2026
The drive for more transparency in global fishing fleets has been accelerated this year, with several international initiatives pushing for more disclosure.
For instance, announced this summer at the Our Ocean Conference in Kenya, the Mombasa Declaration focuses on better collection and dissemination of vessel information, as well as infrastructure that grants stakeholders better access to fisheries data.
The declaration has been endorsed by… Read More
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
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