The expansion and impact of world fishing fleets in a) 1950 and b) 2006. The maps show the geographical expansion of world fishing fleets from 1950 to 2006 (the latest available data). Since 1950, the area fished by global fishing fleets has increased ten-fold. By 2006 100 million km2, around 1/3 of the ocean surface, […]
NEW YORK, New York, 22 May 2012 (ENS) – Oceans cover about 72 percent of Earth’s surface area and there are an estimated 250,000 marine species. “Yet, despite its importance, marine biodiversity has not fared well at human hands,” UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today in his message to mark the International Day for Biological […]
8 May 2012 (MCCIP) – The Marine Climate Change Impacts Partnership (MCCIP) launched its latest Report Card [pdf] today at the World Fisheries Congress in Edinburgh. It focuses on how climate change is affecting the fish and shellfish we find in our seas, providing both opportunities and threats, and what the social and economic consequences […]
4 April 2012 (Surfmeisters) – Ocean lovers everywhere, we are at crisis point. The top predator species in the food chain of our oceans is being hunted to extinction. Some shark specie populations are estimated to have declined by over 99% since the 1970′s! The repercussions for marine eco-systems are dramatic and have devastating consequences […]
22 April 2012 (Canadian Press) – A group of more than 2,000 scientists from 67 countries has called for a moratorium on commercial fishing in the Arctic until more research can be completed on waters that were once covered by ice year-round. The scientists said the loss of permanent sea ice has opened up as […]
Corvallis, Oregon, 10 April 2012 (SPX) – A task force that conducted one of the most comprehensive analyses of global “forage fish” populations issued its report this week, which strongly recommends implementing more conservative catch limits for these crucial prey species. The Lenfest Forage Fish Task Force [summary pdf, full pdf] calls for the harvest […]
By Tim Wall9 April 2012 Several mass deaths of dolphins have occurred over the past few years and while experts are worried about the die-off they say we are not witnessing a global population crash. But what is behind the recent mass strandings and deaths is complicated and, inevitably, involves humans. For example, the bottlenose […]
By Lewis Smith4 April 2012 An organisation has been set up to ensure the growing demand for tuna caught by pole and line can be met without damaging fish numbers. Pole and line caught tuna is increasingly in demand by consumers – chiefly in the UK, Northern Europe Australasia, Japan and North America – because […]
By DAVID JOLLY9 April 2012 The other day, a ninth-grade student e-mailed me to ask about the plight of the bluefin tuna. What, he wanted to know, should the government be doing to help keep those endangered fish alive? As a journalist with an interest in marine conservation, I’ve written extensively on the (mostly unsuccessful) […]
21 March 2012 (SEI) – A global, integrated approach is urgently needed to protect the oceans from converging threats. A new study coordinated by SEI shows climate change alone could reduce the economic value of key ocean services by up to 2 trillion USD a year by 2100, and urges world leaders to make the […]
