IN BRIEF - Inside North Korea's Forced-Labor Program
NORTH KOREA
Monday, February 26, 2024
Workers sent from the country to Chinese factories describe enduring beatings and sexual abuse, having their wages taken by the state, and being told that if they try to escape they will be “killed without a trace.”
IN FEBRUARY OF LAST YEAR, Donggang Jinhui Foodstuff, a seafood-processing company in Dandong, China, threw a party. It had been a successful year: a new plant had opened, and the company had doubled the amount of squid that it exported to the United States. The party, according to videos posted on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, featured singers, instrumentalists, dancers, fireworks, and strobe lights. One aspect of the company’s success seems to have been its use of North Korean workers, who are sent by their government to work in Chinese factories, in conditions of captivity, to earn money for the state.
A seafood trader who does business with Jinhui recently estimated that it employed between fifty and seventy North Koreans. Videos posted by a company representative show machines labelled in Korean, and workers with North Korean accents explaining how to clean squid.
At the party, the company played songs that are popular in Pyongyang, including “People Bring Glory to Our Party” (written by North Korea’s 1989 poet laureate) and “We Will Go to Mt. Paektu” (a reference to the widely mythologized birthplace of Kim Jong Il).[...]
The domestically produced longline processor Marlin, built at the USC Severnaya Verf shipyard in St. Petersburg, has set sail for its home port of Murmansk. It will undergo fishing trials in the Barents Sea before loading gear to begin commercial operations.
Constructed under the state investment quota program ("keel quotas") for the company Globus—founded by a collective farm partnership in the Arkhangelsk region—the vessel will target cod (Gadus morhua), haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus), halibut, and wolffish across the Barents, Norwegian, and North Seas. Longlining provides an environmentally friendly harvesting method that preserves seabed habitats.
The Marlin can catch up to 25 tons of fish per day, featuring a freezer hold capacity of 600 tons of finished products. Equipped with an automated, full-cycle factory for deep processing, freezing, and storage, the vessel has already successfully completed all factory, mooring, and sea trials.
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s (LDP) fisheries panels adopted a resolution on Thursday urging the Japanese government to continue negotiations for an expanded Pacific bluefin tuna catch quota.
The LDP's Fisheries Division and Research Commission on Fishery Policies acted after recent international talks failed to reach an agreement on Japan's proposal, primarily due to opposition from Mexico.
Arata Takebe, chairman of the commission, delivered the resolution to Fisheries Minister Norikazu Suzuki, emphasizing the need to coordinate with the Fisheries Agency and the Foreign Ministry to secure a deal.
Minister Suzuki pledged to move with urgency to resolve the stalemate. He noted that the ministry is evaluating sending a state minister and senior officials to Mexico to analyze why the nation reversed its stance and determine how to advance future negotiations.
The Chinese group has completed its operational and industrial transition, explaining the definitive departure of the founding family
Conservas Albo has just concluded the first of two major eras defining the history of one of the oldest companies in its sector—spanning over 155 years since its founding in Cantabria. This milestone is marked by the departure of Jesús Albo Durán from the company's management team, ten years after the Chinese fishing giant Shanghai Kaichuang Marine International acquired 100% of Conservas Albo’s shares for nearly 61 million euros, according to the Pontevedra Mercantile Registry.
Source: La Voz de Galicia | read the full article here
The company has withdrawn its application for the proposed commercial-scale facility, citing changes to the project’s regulatory and administrative requirements
Nueva Pescanova has withdrawn its application to develop a commercial octopus farm at the Port of Las Palmas in Gran Canaria. According to La Voz Canaria, the group communicated its withdrawal for a concession at the Esfinge dock in Las Palmas via a letter to the Port Authority. Among the reasons cited by the group for this decision are the "significant extension of administrative deadlines" and uncertainty regarding the "completion of environmental and sectoral procedures."
Source: The Fish Site | Read the full article here
European salmon processors could gain a tariff advantage in the US market after Washington imposed higher duties on products originating in Norway and Chile than on goods of EU origin.
Norwegian and Chilean goods are now subject to an additional 12.5% tariff. For EU products, the new duty is calculated so that the combined existing and Section 301 tariff does not exceed 10%.
For salmon products that previously entered duty-free, this creates a 2.5-percentage-point advantage for EU-origin goods.
Source: SalmonBusiness | Read the full article here
The spot price of market-influencing Norwegian farmed salmon increased by NOK 0.90 per kilo last week (week 29), up to NOK 65.20 (£5.20), according to sector statistics provider Akvafakta.
That price is NOK 3.19 higher than the same week last year, when the spot price was NOK 62.01/kg.
Over the last four weeks, the spot price has risen by NOK 0.68 per week.
Author: Ole Andreas Drønen / fishfarmingexpert | Read the full article here
Santander will serve as the European capital of the blue economy next year, acting as the host city for European Maritime Day (EMD)—the European Union's premier annual event dedicated to maritime affairs and sustainable blue growth. The event is scheduled for May 20 and 21, as confirmed by the Government of Cantabria, which is already actively collaborating with the Commission on the event's organization. Annette Westberg, a representative from the European Commission's Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG MARE), visited Cantabria to inspect the proposed venues firsthand, meet with the relevant institutions, and gain a deeper understanding of the proposal put forward by the Cantabrian government.
Source: Industrias Pesqueras | Read the full article here
The Norwegian company tops the Ocean Benchmark 2026, while the Spanish group ranks among the top five companies across all analyzed areas.
Mowi and Nueva Pescanova have established themselves as the top performers in sustainability among major international fishing and aquaculture companies. The Ocean Benchmark 2026, produced by the World Benchmarking Alliance, positions the Norwegian multinational as the global leader and highlights the Spanish group's consistent performance in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) areas.
The study examined 22 of the world's most influential seafood companies.
Freight and haulage operator Northwards, which has bases in Shetland, Orkney, Aberdeen, Inverness, Scrabster and Central Scotland, is investing £640,000 in additional insulated trailers to meet growing demand for salmon exports from Shetland.
The company will take delivery of eight trailers this year, followed by a rolling replacement programme of four trailers annually.
The new insulated trailers are particularly efficient for use on the Shetland–Aberdeen ferry service, where deck space is limited.
The Insuliner design was first pioneered by Northwards to enable temperature-controlled fish to be transported from Shetland.
On the return journey, the trailers can accommodate a range of other freight items that can be side-loaded, rather than being restricted to the rear doors of conventional refrigerated trailers.
Argentina enacted legislation to address illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing by officially signing onto the United Nations-backed Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA).
The PSMA is an agreement administered through the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization that was developed 10 years ago. According to a release by the Pew Charitable Trusts, it's the only legally binding international treaty designed to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing by denying vessels that have been caught from entering ports. There are over 100 signed participants in the PSMA, including major fishing fleets from the E.U. and China. Participants are subject to strengthened inspections and data sharing.
Author: Haley Jones / SeafoodSource | Read the full article here
NORTH KOREA
RUSSIAN FEDERATION
JAPAN
CHINA.png)
The Chinese group has completed its operational and industrial transition, explaining the definitive departure of the founding family
SPAIN.png)
The company has withdrawn its application for the proposed commercial-scale facility, citing changes to the project’s regulatory and administrative requirements
EUROPEAN UNION
European salmon processors could gain a tariff advantage in the US market after Washington imposed higher duties on products originating in Norway and Chile than on goods of EU origin.
NORWAY
The spot price of market-influencing Norwegian farmed salmon increased by NOK 0.90 per kilo last week (week 29), up to NOK 65.20 (£5.20), according to sector statistics provider Akvafakta.
Santander will serve as the European capital of the blue economy next year, acting as the host city for European Maritime Day (EMD)—the European Union's premier annual event dedicated to maritime affairs and sustainable blue growth. The event is scheduled for May 20 and 21, as confirmed by the Government of Cantabria, which is already actively collaborating with the Commission on the event's organization. Annette Westberg, a representative from the European Commission's Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG MARE), visited Cantabria to inspect the proposed venues firsthand, meet with the relevant institutions, and gain a deeper understanding of the proposal put forward by the Cantabrian government.
WORLDWIDE.png)
The Norwegian company tops the Ocean Benchmark 2026, while the Spanish group ranks among the top five companies across all analyzed areas.
UNITED KINGDOM.png)
The company will take delivery of eight trailers this year, followed by a rolling replacement programme of four trailers annually.
ARGENTINA.png)
Argentina enacted legislation to address illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing by officially signing onto the United Nations-backed Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA).
