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
Chinese officials recently announced the country will cancel subsidies to a number of distant-water fishing companies that do not meet standards set by the 2022 World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Fishery Subsidies.
China formally accepted the agreement in June of 2023. According to the WTO, it is one of 52 countries that have signed onto the deal; two-thirds of WTO member countries, or 110 in total, need to sign in order for the deal to
… Read More
IFFO has responded to a report accusing the organization as being rife with conflicts of interest.
The report by environment-focused news website DeSmog, “Revealed: Industry-led West Africa Fishery Protection Measures Marred By ‘Massive Conflicts of Interest,” accused IFFO’s sustainability initiatives, including the Global Roundtable on Marine Ingredients and the MarinTrust certification program – ostensibly
… Read More
China’s seafood prices rose 1.2 percent in June compared to the same month of 2023.
The country's consumer price index overall rose 0.2 percent in June – a far cry from inflation levels seen in other major economies. Overall price growth has slumped across the Chinese economy as the country’s real estate sector remains in the doldrums and export markets raise tariffs against an influx of cheap Chinese goods.
The latest
… Read More
Sino Jet, which describes itself as Asia-Pacific's leading business jet management company, has entered a partnership with Chunan Qiandaohu Xunlong Import and Export Co., the producer of Kaluga Queen Caviar.
Hong Kong-based Sino Jet Management operates a fleet of 15 aircraft, including a jet that the company manages on behalf of action movie star Jackie Chan. The company is owned by mainland Chinese investment firm Tsinghua Holdings, a
… Read More
A Chinese airline has introduced a new freight service, enabling the air-freighting of farmed salmon from Norway.
The Nanchang-Oslo service, operated by Capital Airlines using an Airbus A330, will bring e-commerce deliveries to Norway for Scandinavian customers and pick up Norwegian salmon for the return journey. It's the first direct air-freight service connecting China and Oslo, according to China's civil aviation regulatory authority.
… Read More
China has signed a memorandum of understanding for a “Blue Partnership” with the Pacific Island nation of Kiribati.
Kiribati Fisheries and Marine Resources Development Minister Ribanatak Siwo signed the agreement after meeting with Sun Shuxian, director of China’s State Oceanic Administration and vice minister of China’s Ministry of Natural Resources, during a visit to Beijing on 1 July. According to Chinese media
… Read More
A new report published by the World Trade Organization Secretariat shows governments spend 63 times more on fishery subsidies than they have on official development assistance (ODA) toward fisheries sectors in the world's least developed countries.
The report, “Leveraging Global Partnerships to Implement the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies for a Sustainable and Food-Secure Future,” found that between 2010 and 2022, USD 6.2
… Read More
China’s highest court has published a ruling reinstating subsidies to a distant-water fishing company on the grounds that fishing in international waters is a strategic national priority.
The ruling, delivered by the Xiamen Foreign-related Maritime Tribunal, offers insight into the rationale for Chinese policymakers’ robust support for the subsidized expansion of distant-water fishing operations, even though the Chinese fleet has
… Read More