Languages

The Nippon Foundation - University of British ColumbiaNEREUS PROGRAMPredicting Future Oceans

Nereus Program

POLICY BRIEF: A review of the impacts of fisheries on open-ocean ecosystems

| Policy Briefs, Fisheries

Up until the 1960s, the open-ocean in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) was one of the last frontiers of fisheries exploitation. The magnitude and inaccessibility of open-ocean ecosystems, as well as technological constraints, deterred fisheries from operating intensely in them. However, open-ocean fisheries expanded exponentially from the 1960s through the 1980s and 1990s, at which point global fish catches peaked, plateaued and possibly began to decline.

Read More

POLICY BRIEF: Satellite tracking to monitor area-based management tools & identify governance gaps in fisheries beyond national jurisdiction

| Policy Briefs, Climate Change, Law and Governance

A new source of publicly accessible data on fishing vessel activity is providing unprecedented insight into the scope of fishing in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) and governance gaps therein. This emerging source of ocean ‘big data’ can help quantify who is fishing where in ABNJ, can enhance cooperation between competent authorities, and can help States and competent organizations implement policies and management measures related to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction.

Read More

POLICY BRIEF: Open Data: enabling conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction

| Policy Briefs, Climate Change

Open data is critically important for effective conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ). Open data enables effective and efficient environmental impact assessments, area-based management, sharing of non-monetary benefits of marine genetic resources and achieving marine technology transfer. As components of marine technology transfer, data acquisition (including biological, genetic, environmental and other forms of data) and accessibility are therefore both important issues for the new instrument.

Read More

POLICY BRIEF: Technology Transfer

| Policy Briefs, Climate Change, Law and Governance

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) Part XIV provides for State cooperation with the view to promoting the development and transfer of marine science and technology. In addition, Article 202 refers to the provision of scientific and technical assistance to developing States for the protection and preservation of the marine environment. UNCLOS Part XIV and XIII refer to various forms of technology transfer including training, access to information, international scientific research cooperation and establishing national and regional marine science and technology centres.

Read More

Biomass modeling and transfer efficiency: Mathieu Colléter completes fellowship

| Latest News

Biomass is the mass of organisms in an ecosystem or community; it is thought of in terms of energy for the next trophic level – the higher chain in the food web. For example, the biomass of plankton, which may be eaten by herring, which may be eaten by tuna. Mathieu Colléter recently completed his Nereus Program fellowship at UBC. The focus of his study was on ecosystem modeling and, more particularly, work on biomass estimates for the world ocean using ecosystem models.

Read More

Nereus Cambridge/UNEP-WCMC Meeting

Nereus Director (Science) William Cheung will attend a meeting with the Nereus team at the University of Cambridge/UNEP-WCMC on July 13th in Cambridge, United Kingdom.

Read More

Jellyfish for dinner: Is fishing a viable solution to the increase in jellyfish blooms?

| Policy Forum, Climate Change, Ecology and Biodiversity

While jellyfish, with their soft, gelatinous bodies, may seem like innocuous creatures, when they occur in large blooms they can often cause detrimental effects. Jellyfish blooms have been observed to clog power plants, cause mass mortality to fish in aquaculture farms, burst fishing nets and even sink a 10 tonne fishing vessel. It is predicted that jellyfish will benefit from climate change and other anthropogenic changes, such as overfishing, eutrophication and coastal development.

Read More

Partners

Learn More About Our Partners

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.

Learn More

Newsletter

Receive our monthly newsletter:
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Follow

Contact Us

The Nereus Program
Aquatic Ecosystem Research Laboratory
2202 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4
Open Positions