Gulf of Maine Research Institute and Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association are cooperating to develop a smartphone application or similar tool they say will allow seafood consumers to learn the backstory of a piece of fish by scanning a code at the supermarket.

Scientists say the planned application will allow consumers to learn the name of the fisherman who caught their fish and where they caught it.

Japan’s trade gap expected to persist

TOKYO » Japan posted a trade deficit in April following a single-month’s surplus in March, and economists said shortfalls were likely to persist given the weakness of the yen.

The 53.4 billion yen ($439.6 million) deficit in April for the world’s third-biggest economy compared with a 227.4 billion yen surplus in March, the first in several years.

But thanks to lower oil and gas prices, the deficit fell more than forecast, nearly 94 percent from April 2014, when the deficit was 825.5 billion yen, the Finance Ministry reported Monday.

The Japanese yen, now trading around 121.60 to the U.S. dollar, is at its lowest level in price-adjusted terms since January 1973, according to Richard Katz of The Oriental Economist Report.

That means imports are costing Japan more in relative terms than in past decades. Oil prices appear to have bottomed out, augering further deficits, economists say.

China to cut import tax on some goods

BEIJING » China announced Monday it will cut import taxes on clothing, cosmetics and some other goods by half in a new tactic to spur consumer spending and economic growth.

Beijing is in the midst of a marathon effort to reduce reliance on trade and investment to drive economic growth by nurturing domestic consumption.

Tariff cuts due to take effect June 1 will be "conducive to a reasonable expansion of imports," said a Finance Ministry statement. "Expanding domestic consumer demand is an important measure for steady growth and structural adjustment."

The cuts apply to clothing, shoes, skin care products, baby food and supplies, and kitchen utensils.

Growth in retail sales declined to 10 percent in April, down from March’s 10.2 percent and below expectations of 10.4 percent. Imports plunged 16.2 percent compared with a year earlier in a sign of weak consumer demand.

Businesses turn to U.S. dollar in Venezuela

CARACAS, Venezuela » It’s still possible to buy a gleaming Ford truck in Venezuela, rent a chic apartment in Caracas and snag an American Airlines flight to Miami. Just not in the country’s official currency.

As the South American nation spirals into economic chaos, an increasing number of products are not only figuratively out of the reach of average consumers, but literally cannot be purchased in Venezuelan bolivars, which fell into a tailspin on the black market last week.

Businesses and individuals are turning to dollars even as the anti-American rhetoric of the socialist administration grows more strident. It’s a shift that’s allowing parts of the economy to limp along despite a cash crunch and the world’s highest inflation. But it could put some goods further out of reach of the working class, whose well-being has been the focal point of the country’s 16-year-old socialist revolution.

ON THE MOVE

Lights on Digital, a Honolulu-based digital marketing and revenue management firm, has announced Manuel Cortes as an assistant revenue manager. He has 10 years experience in pricing and revenue management at Continental Airlines, Island Air, Booking.com, and Aston Hotels & Resorts.

OliverMcMillan has announced Alan Ong as the firm’s regional manager of its Hawaii operations. He has 35 years’ experience in real estate development work and was previously chief operating officer of the Hawaii Division of Hunt Development Group and served as a consultant to Hunt for more than five years.

Hawaii Prince Hotel Waikiki and Golf Club has promoted Wade Gesteuyala to general manager from hotel manager, which he served as since 2008. His experience includes serving as an executive housekeeper at Hawaii Prince Hotel Waikiki as well as having worked at Westin Hilton Head Island Resort & Spa in South Carolina, Hilton Guam Resort and Spa, Pacific Islands Club in Guam and hotel manager at Mauna Kea Resort.