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The Nippon Foundation - University of British ColumbiaNEREUS PROGRAMPredicting Future Oceans

fisheries

Five key aspects of sustainable aquaculture: Can aquaculture help tackle global food security, especially in Africa?

| Policy Forum, Fisheries

by Muhammed Oyinlola, Nereus Fellow

Aquaculture, the farming of aquatic species, is gradually becoming an important aspect of solving the challenge of global food security. The supply of seafood from fisheries is declining; fish stocks can only be increased if we reduce our fishing pressures, yet governments continue to subsidize the fishing industry for us to fish more. Hence, the open window we have is aquaculture. My argument is that we need to change from hunting in the ocean to farming the oceans just the way we changed hunting on land to producing animal protein by farming. Can aquaculture be our best option to increase the seafood supply for the world’s ever increasing population?

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What effects will Brexit have on the UK’s fishing industry? Uncertainties facing policy, science and society.

| Policy Forum, Fisheries, Law and Governance

In the lead up to last week’s referendum on whether the United Kingdom should remain in the European Union, immigration often seemed to be at the forefront at the debate. But the fishing industry was also a hot topic, even leading to demonstrations and bitter exchanges on the impact of EU membership, including from boats on the Thames. With the UK voting to leave the EU, there is a lot of uncertainty for the future of fisheries. Here are some areas, affecting policy, science and society, where the impacts may be felt.

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COMPASS Capitol Hill Briefing

Senior Nereus Fellow at Duke University, Daniel Dunn, will act as a panelist at a COMPASS-organized briefing on June 28th at the United States Capitol in Washington D.C., United States….

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The impending extinction of the vaquita is not just a fishing problem — it’s a social and ecological one too

| Publication Highlights, Fisheries, Ecology and Biodiversity

In our current eco-friendly world, where climate change makes front-page news and the killing of a lion launches thousands of Facebook posts, how can a porpoise be nearing extinction and most of the world not even know of its existence?

The vaquita is going extinct at an alarming rate, from an estimated 600 individuals in 1996 to 60 in 2016, states a report presented to Mexico’s Minister of the Environment and Natural Resources earlier this month. It’s the world’s smallest marine mammal, with a maximum length of only 1.5 meters (4.9 feet). And with its dark eye patches and mouth that seems to curl up into a smile even after death, the vaquita is not missing out on the cute factor.

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Managing straddling and highly migratory fish stocks: Nereus holds side event at the UN Fish Stocks Agreement Review

| Policy Forum, Fisheries, Law and Governance

Fish don’t respect borders. With 1982’s United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, coastal nations were given the right to manage fisheries within their Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) – the area that extends, generally, up to 200 nautical miles. But of course, fish don’t adhere to imaginary lines in the ocean.

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Seasonal phytoplankton blooms in the North Atlantic linked to the overwintering strategies of copepods

| Publication Highlights, Ecology and Biodiversity, Oceanography

“Seasonal phytoplankton blooms in the North Atlantic linked to the overwintering strategies of copepods,” co-authored by Nereus Fellow Rebecca Asch (Princeton University), was recently published in Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene. The paper looks at when and how long phytoplankton blooms occur in the North Atlantic. The authors found a correlation between spring bloom start days and the duration of the bloom, with early blooms lasting longer.

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Fish of the day: Why does seafood seasonality matter?

| Policy Forum, Fisheries, Economics

By Wilf Swartz, Nereus Program Manager/Research Associate

Japanese call it shun (旬), the seasonality of food. It refers to the time of year when a specific type of food is at its peak, either in terms of harvest or flavour. It is not unique to Japanese culture, as The Byrds reminded us in the mid-1960s with their, now classic, rendition of “Turn! Turn! Turn! (to Everything There Is a Season).”

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THE NEREUS PROGRAM

The Nereus Program strives to explore a broad range of perspectives and scientific opinions on ocean sustainability, and to create an inclusive community of researchers and other marine professionals. This principle is founded on the Nippon Foundation’s vision of global capacity building to ensure that our oceans’ legacy is preserved and potential is protected for future generations.

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