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 UNITED STATES
Monday, January 21, 2013
CINCINNATI, /PRNewswire/ -- The Kroger Co.'s
(NYSE: KR) Board of Directors today declared a quarterly dividend of
15¢ per share to be paid on March 1, 2013, to shareholders of record as
of the close of business on February 15, 2013. In September, the
company's board of directors raised the quarterly dividend by
approximately 30 percent, to 15¢ per share. Since reinstating dividends
in 2006, Kroger has increased the dividend each year and expects to
continue to do so.
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 TAIWAN
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Taiwan hopes to sign an agreement with Japan on fishery rights as
soon as possible, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs official said yesterday
in the wake of a report that Japan hopes to ink the deal in the first
half of this year.
“We hope to have it [the agreement] signed as soon as possible,” ministry spokesman Steve Hsia said.
He made the remarks in response to a report published on Wednesday
that said Japan’s representative to Taiwan, Sumio Tarui, expressed hope
in a speech in Taipei that Taiwan and Japan can ink a fishery agreement
no later than the first half of this year.
Taiwan and Japan held a preparatory meeting in November to discuss a
resumption of formal fishery talks to address the issue of fishing
rights in the waters surrounding the disputed Diaoyutai Islands in the
East China Sea, Hsia said.
No timetable has been set for the next meeting, although Taiwan and
Japan have a common goal of resuming talks as soon as possible, he said.
The previous 16 rounds of talks, dating back to 1996, failed to
deliver concrete results, but Taiwanese officials have expressed hope
that progress will be achieved when talks resume.
Taiwan and Japan last held talks on fishing rights in their
overlapping territories in 2009, but discussions have been stalled since
then.
Taiwanese fishermen consider the waters near the Diaoyutais as their
traditional fishing grounds, but are routinely chased away by Japanese
authorities when venturing too close to what Japan sees as its
territorial waters.
Source: taipeitimes.com
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UNITED STATES
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Aid for communities affected by fisheries disasters is still
uncertain after the House of Representatives passed a second disaster
relief bill this month that didn’t include Alaska.
The House passed a $50.7 billion Disaster Relief Appropriations Act
Jan. 15, which went only to Hurricane Sandy aid, and did not include any
of the fisheries disasters declared last fall in Alaska, New England
and the Gulf of Mexico.
The Senate must pass a corresponding bill to be reconciled with the House version before it can be signed into law.
The Senate passed a $60 billion Hurricane Sandy bill in December,
which included funding for fishery disasters and tsunami marine debris
cleanup, but the House did not vote on the entirety of that bill before
the 112th Congress came to an end
By Molly Dischner - Alaska Alaska Journal of Commerce (read full story here)
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 IRAN
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Iran exported about 500kg of sturgeon caviar in the last three quarters, Trend reports.
Issa Golshakhi, a spokesman of the Iranian Fishing Organization, said
that the main buyers of Iranian caviar were Europe, USA, Japan and the
UAE.
The official said that specialists were planning to increase the exports to 2 tons the next year (starting on March 21 in Iran).
Alaeddin Borujerdi, chairman of the parliamentary commission for
national security and foreign policy, said at the second Caspian Sea
Conference that caviar from the Caspian Sea is popular all over the
world.
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 PHILIPPINES
Saturday, January 19, 2013
DAVAO CITY—The overall commander of the search operations for people
missing 44 days after Typhoon Pablo struck the eastern part of Mindanao
has called off the search.
Lt. Gen. Jorge Segovia, commander of the Eastern Mindanao Command
(Eastmincom) announced the decision in a statement on Wednesday but
assured relatives of the missing that he has still placed on standby all
the military assets used in combing the affected areas
For the meantime, he said, the personnel involved in the search would
be shifted to the ongoing relief distribution for the affected
villagers and the rehabilitation of the damaged rural areas and
flattened towns.
Among the missing were 352 fishermen from General Santos City, who
left days or weeks earlier before the typhoon struck on Dec. 4 last
year. They were aboard 47 fishing vessels that also continued to be
unaccounted for.
The last incident of a survivor rescued was on Jan. 12, he said, while the last retrieved body, all at sea, was on Jan. 10.
Source: http://businessmirror.com.ph
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 AUSTRALIA
Friday, January 18, 2013
The east coast of Australia is now considered one of the fastest warming areas in the region.
The CSIRO says fish are moving south in search of cooler waters, and
marine heatwaves like the recent one off Western Australia are likely to
cause major damage to corals and fisheries.
Scientists also warn climate change is now considered the single
greatest threat to the long-term survival of the Great Barrier Reef.
Every month for the past 70 years, the ocean temperature has been recorded at the Port Hacking station off New South Wales.
It is one of a network of sites set up around Australia observing coastal conditions including salinity and ocean temperatures.
While it creates new fisheries, there are also downsides.
One was recorded off Western Australia, with ocean temperatures 5 degrees above average over two weeks.
The Commonwealth says there were no records of bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef before 1979
ABC - Full Story Here
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UNITED STATES
Friday, January 18, 2013
Massachusetts would levy fines on supermarkets and restaurants that
mislabel seafood and become the first state in the nation to ban the
sale of escolar, an oily species known as the “ex-lax” fish that is
often served as sushi, under legislation expected to be filed Friday.
The bill, proposed by the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Consumer
Protection and Professional Licensure, comes more than a year after a
Boston Globe report revealed widespread seafood substitution in
restaurants across Massachusetts. In many instances, less desirable and
cheaper species took the place of fresh local fish. A follow-up
investigation published last fall found most of those restaurants were
still mislabeling seafood.
Businesses caught misrepresenting fish such as Atlantic cod, Atlantic
halibut, red snapper, or grey sole could face fines of up to $800 and
have their license to operate suspended or revoked after repeat
offenses, according to the legislation.
The law would also prohibit the sale of escolar, frequently
mislabeled as white tuna or albacore at sushi restaurants, and punish
first-time violators with a minimum $400 fine or license suspension.
Albacore, a white tuna desired for its mild taste, is not related to
escolar and typically costs 20 percent more.
Source: Boston Globe
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UNITED STATES
Friday, January 18, 2013
MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Verlasso(r), the world's first provider of harmoniously raised fish, and Acme Smoked Fish Corporation,
a Brooklyn, N.Y.-based producer and distributor of smoked fish, will
unveil Verlasso Smoked Salmon during the 2013 Fancy Food Show, Jan.
20-22, 2013 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. The new product will
be available to retail and food industry seafood purveyors through
Acme's premium, all-natural Blue Hill Bay(r) Smoked Seafood brand. Show
attendees can sample and learn more about Verlasso Smoked Salmon at the
Acme booth #883.
Verlasso's Harmoniously Raised difference creates a better
environment for fish to grow into great-tasting salmon with a shimmery
quality, full fins and bright eyes. A critical aspect of the Verlasso
approach protects ocean biodiversity through an innovative solution to
the depletion of our world's fisheries. Specifically, Verlasso lowers
the "fish in, fish out" ratio of the salmon's diet - the pounds of wild
caught feeder fish needed to produce one pound of salmon - from the
industry standard of 4:1 for fish oil and fish meal to 1:1 without
compromising healthy levels of Omega-3s in the salmon's diet.
Verlasso and Acme collaborated to create right-sized smoked salmon
options for grocery stores, delis, gourmet and specialty stores, and
select catalogue and online gourmet retailers
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 UNITED KINGDOM
Friday, January 18, 2013
Scottish fishermen have broadly welcomed the outcome of negotiations
between the EU and Norway to decide upon catching allocations for shared
stocks in 2013.
The bilateral talks concluded this morning, and against a background
of recovering stocks and the scientific advice, quota increases were
agreed for a number of key stocks including North Sea haddock (15%
increase), North Sea whiting (11%), North Sea plaice (15%), North Sea
saithe (15%), and North Sea herring (18%). The North Sea cod quota
remains unchanged at the 2011 level, with a facility for boats to
increase their cod catch further if they participate in catch quota
trials. There was also a 15% increase for West of Scotland saithe.
For mackerel, a catch limit was set that followed scientific advice
and which will maintain the EU and Norway’s traditional share of the
total allowable catch. This is an arrangement that will signal the
resolve of the EU and Norway against the background of continuing
failure to achieve an international management agreement for the stock
with Iceland and the Faroes.
Source: SFF - Scottish Fishermen’s Federation
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 TONGA
Friday, January 18, 2013
A fishing company says the government needs to make commercial
fishing cheaper for local companies in order to attract more domestic
fleets.
Alatini Fisheries
has held meetings with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and
Fisheries this week to discuss ways of attracting more fishing vessels
to operate in Tonga’s waters and how to revive the industry.
The Managing Director of Alatini Fisheries, Tricia Emberson, says in
the last five years there have only been two local fishing fleets
licensed to operate and is recommending the government make some key
changes.
“One of the big things is the consumption tax, that it be abolished.
Because it’s created a huge problem since its inception. We’d look at
government revising some financial incentives to perhaps attract joint
venture companies. We’d also look at their charges being made on the
domestic fleet be revised because they’re amongst some of the highest
compared to other countries around the region.”
Tricia Emberson says has also suggested the government devise a clear, strategic license framework within a year.
Source: Radio New Zealand International
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