Royal Dutch Shell Plc finally put out a blaze at its massive Singapore refinery after firefighters struggled to contain it for a day and a half, forcing the firm to start shutting its biggest plant worldwide.

StarKist Company, owner of StarKist Samoa cannery in Satala, has called on the U.S. Congress to again delay the next scheduled minimum wage increase set for next year, and consider a more "reliable system" of implementing wage increases based on economic conditions in American Samoa.

According to an article in IntraFish, one of the largest seafood companies in the United States is having a tough 2011. Canned seafood giant Bumble Bee Foods, which has sales of around USD 1 billion, has run into some trouble at its plant in Fiji, which has been closed since July after falling foul of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which imposed import restrictions on the company.

Fisheries and Aquaculture Minister Phil Heatley has acknowledged the crew of HMNZS Wellington with a presentation to mark the first ever high seas fisheries compliance operation involving the Navy’s new offshore patrol vessels (OPVs). Heatley says ‘Operation Zodiac’ was a superb example of how collaborative interagency work could protect New Zealand’s wider fisheries interests.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food (Sagarpa) defined the dates of the temporary closure to commercial fishing of tuna in waters under Mexican federal jurisdiction of the Pacific Ocean. According to the Agreement published in the Official Journal of the Federation, the capture prohibition applies to yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares), bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus), bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus orientalis) and skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis).

In order to combat pirates’ action in the Indian Ocean, the Ministry of Defense of Spain authorized the use of large caliber weapons -- 12.70 mm -- in tuna vessels fishing in these waters. So far, the boats have been able to carry weapons of 7.62 millimetres, but the current ones are much more powerful and they are usually anchored using some kind of support.

The fisheries sector engaged in fishing Atlantic Albacore (Thunnus alalunga) expressed concern about the very low catches recorded during the current season. From the beginning of the year to 11 September in Gipuzkoa ports, which receive most Albacore catches, only 1,600 tons were unloaded while in the same period in 2010 a total of 2,900 tons was landed.

Palau’s President, Johnson Toribiong, has called on the international community to make the use of global fisheries fairer. Speaking to the UN General Assembly, President Toribiong said if distant water vessels want to fish in Pacific waters, they must respect the laws of the region.