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Mechanisms and risk of cumulative impacts to coastal ecosystem services: An expert elicitation approach

Human activities degrade and convert coastal ecosystems through infrastructure development, resource extraction, and tourism, among other anthropogenic activities. There is an urgency to gain a comprehensive understanding of how human activities/stressors impact coastal ecosystems and the ecosystems services they provide us.

Scientists Launch Global Agenda to Curb Social and Human Rights Abuses in the Seafood Sector

The article, published today in the journal Science, is in direct response to investigative reports by the Associated Press, the Guardian, the New York Times and other media outlets that uncovered glaring human rights violations on fishing vessels. The investigations tracked the widespread use of slave labor in Southeast Asia and its role in bringing seafood to American restaurants and supermarkets, chronicling the plight of fishermen tricked and trapped into working 22-hour days, often without pay and while enduring abuse. Subsequent investigations have documented the global extent of these abuses in a wide array of countries.

REPORT – Oceans and Sustainable Development Goals: Co-Benefits, Climate Change and Social Equity

A healthy ocean will benefit global sustainable development in a number of ways, finds a new report published today by the Nippon Foundation-Nereus Program. With climate change and social inequity addressed, restoring the ocean will help alleviate poverty, provide livelihoods, and improve the health of millions around the world.

Solutions to blue carbon emissions: Shrimp cultivation, mangrove deforestation and climate change in coastal Bangladesh

Bangladesh is a world leader in aquaculture production, ranking sixth after China, Indonesia, India, Vietnam, and the Philippines. Due to the nation’s favourable physical characteristics, Bangladesh is highly suitable for coastal aquaculture, especially the tiger shrimp sector. Shrimp culture has diversified livelihood opportunities for coastal communities, as over two million people are involved in fish farming, market, processing, and exporting.

Marine conservation must consider human rights: An appeal for a code of conduct

Off the northern Andaman coast of Thailand, marine protected areas have been established to protect the vibrant coral reefs and underwater ecosystems. But underlying the good intentions of those promoting marine conservation are unintended consequences – that small-scale fishers and indigenous Moken communities were restricted from fishing and harvesting in the area with no other livelihoods options provided.

Climate change-contaminant interactions in marine food webs

This paper proposes that climate change will alter the effects of pollutants in marine food webs by either directly increasing contaminant exposure (for instance due to receding ice caps), or making organisms more vulnerable to other climate change impacts. It discusses two main classes of contaminants that can affect the health of marine organisms: fat-soluble contaminants known as persistent organic pollutants (POPs), and protein-binding contaminants such as methylmercury (MeHg).

Managing living marine resources in a dynamic environment: The role of seasonal to decadal climate forecasts

Variations in climate lead to fluctuations and changes in fish stocks; they can have effects on such things as fish behaviour, distributions and growth. Because of this, fisheries management has to respond dynamically to these fluctuations. If management decisions are made primarily on past patterns, the negative impacts can be exacerbated, especially with climate change.

From tiny phytoplankton to massive tuna: how climate change will affect energy flows in ocean ecosystems

Phytoplankton are the foundation of ocean life, providing the energy that supports nearly all marine species. Levels of phytoplankton in an ocean area may seem like a good predictor for the amount of fish that can be caught there, but a new study by Nereus Program researchers finds that this relationship is not so straightforward

Climate, Anchovy, and Sardine

According to the FAO, anchovy and sardine made up 13% of global catch in 2012. These small fish are consumed by humans, marine mammals, seabirds, squid, and other fish. They are also used for aquaculture feed, industrial oil, and health supplements. “Climate, Anchovy, and Sardine” a new study in the Annual Review of Marine Science, co-authored by Nereus Alumni Rebecca Asch (Princeton University) and Ryan Rykaczewski (University of South Carolina), reviews the past, present, and future of anchovy and sardine.