Humpback whale splashing in the North West Atlantic Ocean, Massachusetts. Tim Graham / Getty Images
By Jake Johnson
In a move that environmentalists warned could further imperil hundreds of endangered species and a protected habitat for the sake of profit, President Donald Trump on Friday signed a proclamation rolling back an Obama-era order and opening nearly 5,000 square miles off the coast of New England to commercial fishing.
<p>"We're opening it today," Trump said during a <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-roundtable-supporting-americas-commercial-fishermen/" target="_blank">roundtable talk</a> in Maine with commercial fishermen and the state's former governor Paul LePage. "What reason did he have for closing 5,000 miles? That's a lot of miles. Five thousand square miles is a lot. He didn't have a reason, in my opinion."</p>
<p>The reason behind the establishment of the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument in 2016, conservation groups hastened to point out, was to shield endangered species and their ecosystem from harmful intrusion and permanent damage by commercial interests.</p><p>Fishing industry interests challenged former President Barack Obama's designation of the marine monument but were <a href="https://www.wbur.org/earthwhile/2019/12/27/northeast-canyons-seamounts-monument-fishery" target="_blank">rebuffed</a> in federal court last year.</p>
<p>"Opening up the nation's only marine national monument in the Atlantic will help no one but a handful of fishers while risking irreparable damage to the marine wildlife that have no other fully protected areas off our eastern seaboard," <a href="https://defenders.org/newsroom/president-trump-opens-only-marine-national-monument-atlantic-commercial-fishing" target="_blank">said</a> Bob Dreher, senior vice president of Conservation Programs at Defenders of Wildlife. "Ancient and slow-growing deep sea corals, endangered large whales and sea turtles, and an incredible array of fish, seabirds, sharks, dolphins, and other wildlife—these are the species and habitats that will pay the price."</p><p>During the roundtable discussion Friday, Trump said "I love that" when Interior Secretary David Bernhardt—a former <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2019/02/oil-mining-lobbyist-david-bernhardt-nomed-to-be-secretary-of-interior/" target="_blank">oil and mining lobbyist</a>—informed the president that his proclamation is effectively "taking down a 'no fishing' sign" in the Atlantic Ocean.</p><p>"The minute you sign it, we will begin planning," Bernhardt said.</p>
<p>Trump's order Friday is just the latest move the president has taken to gut environmental protections under the cover of the Covid-19 pandemic and a nationwide uprising over police brutality. On Thursday, as <em>Common Dreams</em> <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/06/04/groups-denounce-gutting-environmental-rules-when-trump-thinks-no-one-paying" target="_blank">reported</a>, Trump signed an executive order allowing federal agencies to waive environmental rules to speed approval of energy projects like oil pipelines.</p>
<div id="47f4e" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="1431750a6a1c5950b96b7a78a46362f1"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1269079062447828992" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Trump just opened up a marine sanctuary to commercial fishing, undermining protections for endangered whales, sea t… https://t.co/H3gTJU3oEQ</div> — Friends of the Earth (@Friends of the Earth)<a href="https://twitter.com/foe_us/statuses/1269079062447828992">1591407001.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>Brad Sewell, senior director of oceans for the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), said in a statement that commercial fishing "poses a range of threats, such as harm to deep-sea corals from heavy fishing gear, and entanglement of bycatch and marine mammals."</p><p>Sewell said NRDC is prepared to take legal action against the Trump administration to "protect these marine treasures from harm and exploitation by commercial fishing and other extractive industries." </p><p>"These fragile, extraordinary ocean areas are full of thousand-year-old corals, endangered whales, and other precious marine life," said Sewell. "They belong to all Americans, and they are held in trust for future generations."</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/06/06/quietly-putting-hundreds-species-risk-trump-opens-5000-square-miles-atlantic-ocean" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>.</em><em></em></p>
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Dominican Republic: Saving Coral Reefs From Tourism, Climate Change and Overfishing
18 March
Animals
Dominican Republic: Tourism killing coral reefs | Global Ideas
An estimated 90% of the Dominican Republic's coral reefs have been destroyed, creating a knock-on effect for the entire coastal ecosystem. Local businesses and conservationists are now working to reverse this damage.
<p>Project goal: Making nature more resilient in the face of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-change" target="_self">climate change</a>, tourism and other man-made dangers by protecting and restoring <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/mudflats-mangroves-and-marshes-the-great-coastal-protectors/a-50628747" target="_blank">mangrove forests</a>, seagrass meadows and coral reefs.</p><p>Project scope: Providing expertise, equipment and financing to hire staff for projects in 11 Caribbean countries. Since 2014, non-profit <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/conservation" target="_self">conservation</a> group <a href="https://www.puntacana.org/environment/coral-gardens" target="_blank">Fundacion Grupo Puntacana</a> has revived corals at 60 sites along the Punta Cana coast in the Dominican Republic.</p><p>Project partner: German state-owned development bank KfW, the German Federal Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, <a href="https://www.international-climate-initiative.com/en/details/project/climate-change-adaptation-in-the-caribbean-the-ebafacility-16_II_156-552?iki_lang=en" target="_blank">the International Climate Initiative (IKI)</a>, Fundacion Grupo Puntacana.</p><p>Project financing: The KfW is providing the Dominican conservation group with €800,000 between 2020 and 2022. The group will invest around €400,000 of its own money. The KfW will have provided €25 million in the 11 project countries by 2025.</p>
<p>Some 6.5 million holidaymakers descend upon the Dominican Republic each year to enjoy its glorious palm-lined beaches and turquoise blue waters.</p><p>But mass tourism, polluted water, <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/overfishing">overfishing</a> and <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/coral-reefs-rapidly-die-from-marine-heat-waves-study/a-49960345" target="_blank">climate change</a> have destroyed an estimated 90 percent of the nation's coral reefs, creating a knock-on effect for the entire coastal ecosystem.</p><p>Anglers' nets are now often empty, while the ebb and flow of the tide, rising sea levels and tropical storms carry away more and more of the country's sandy beaches unhindered. In turn that's threatening the very tourism, which is the number one source of income in the country.</p><p>Local non-profit Fundacion Grupo Puntacana is trying to reverse the worst effects.</p><p>Founded by investor group Grupo Puntacana, which runs a number of hotel resorts in the Dominican Republic, the foundation is restoring coral reefs and establishing protected areas in the hopes of securing the coastal landscape — and the livelihoods of coastal inhabitants.</p><p><em>A film by Tim Schauenberg</em></p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/dominican-republic-saving-coral-reefs-from-tourism-climate-change-and-overfishing/a-52698061?maca=en-VAM_volltext_ecowatch-28485-html-copypaste" target="_blank">DW</a>.</em></p>
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EcoWatch Daily Newsletter
Dolphins leap out of the Indian Ocean near a fishing boat. Andrew TB Tan / Moment / Getty Images
Fishing operations in the Indian Ocean have decimated dolphin populations over the last 70 years, according to a new study published in the journal Endangered Species Research.
<p>The fishing operations that have had dolphins swept up as bycatch have meant that nearly 4 million dolphins have died since 1950 and the population of dolphins in the Indian Ocean has declined by nearly 80 percent, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/mar/03/more-than-80-of-indian-ocean-dolphins-may-have-been-killed-by-commercial-fishing-study-finds" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> reported.</p><p>Those numbers just represent the dolphins killed directly as bycatch of drifting <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/gillnets">nets</a> that trail behind large fishing boats and do not represent the number of dolphins, porpoises or whales killed by floating ghost nets, harpoons, other types of tuna fishing or animals that are injured and succumb to their wounds later. That means the actual number of dolphins killed from commercial fishing may actually be much higher, according to the <a href="https://www.int-res.com/articles/esr2020/41/n041p039.pdf" target="_blank">study</a>.</p>
<p>Looking at driftnets, which account for just over one-third of Indian Ocean commercial fisheries, the researchers were able to calculate that the number of dolphins, porpoises, and whales killed directly each year as bycatch peaked at around 100,000 from 2004 to 2006. That number has come down slightly and is now around 85,000 cetaceans annually, according to the <a href="https://www.int-res.com/articles/esr2020/41/n041p039.pdf" target="_blank">study</a>.</p><p>Unfortunately, the authors do not believe the decline in bycatch is the result of improved practices, which are essentially unregulated. Instead, they believe it reflects the declining dolphin population, according to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/mar/03/more-than-80-of-indian-ocean-dolphins-may-have-been-killed-by-commercial-fishing-study-finds" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>.</p>
<p>The study's lead author, Charles Anderson of the Manta Marine organization in the Maldives, estimated that the dolphin numbers had probably dropped to only 13 percent their pre-1980 levels, which is when large-scale tuna fishing in the Indian Ocean began, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/mar/03/more-than-80-of-indian-ocean-dolphins-may-have-been-killed-by-commercial-fishing-study-finds" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> reported.</p><p>"Declining cetacean bycatch rates suggest that such levels of mortality are not sustainable," the <a href="https://www.int-res.com/articles/esr2020/41/n041p039.pdf" target="_blank">study</a> says. "Indeed, mean small cetacean abundance may currently be 13 percent of pre-fishery levels. None of these estimates are precise, but they do demonstrate the likely order of magnitude of the issue."</p>
<p>There are many limitations in obtaining the exact number of mammal deaths due to bycatch, one of the study's author's told <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/mar/03/more-than-80-of-indian-ocean-dolphins-may-have-been-killed-by-commercial-fishing-study-finds" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>, especially considering that most dolphins caught up in driftnets were not registered and were likely tossed over the side of the boat. These types of nets also snare turtles, whales and sharks.</p><p>The researcher, Puti Liza Mustika, from James Cook University's College of Business, Law and Governance, clarified that most of the bycatch was dolphins and that there was some reliable data from observers on boats and from previous studies. However, as a researcher, some clearer numbers would be helpful.</p><p>"That bycatch number is alarming, but there are a lot of uncertainties because the datasets are insufficient," Mustika told <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/mar/03/more-than-80-of-indian-ocean-dolphins-may-have-been-killed-by-commercial-fishing-study-finds" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>.</p>
<p>Adding to an element of uncertainty is that Iran and Indonesia, the countries that run the two largest tuna operations in the Indian Ocean, have no system of reporting cetacean bycatch. Consequently, Iran's average annual bycatch of 214,262 tons of tuna likely kills more than 30,000 dolphins, porpoises and whales every year, according to the <a href="https://www.int-res.com/articles/esr2020/41/n041p039.pdf" target="_blank">study</a>, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/mar/03/more-than-80-of-indian-ocean-dolphins-may-have-been-killed-by-commercial-fishing-study-finds" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> reported.<br></p><p>"It's a painful death. Dolphins are clever, but because the net is very thin in the water, the dolphins' sonar misses them," said Mustika to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/mar/03/more-than-80-of-indian-ocean-dolphins-may-have-been-killed-by-commercial-fishing-study-finds" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>. She added that the impetus to solve the problem is on scientists and tech companies. "The solution has to be technology, as well as using fishing gears that are more sustainable. But banning these fishers is not a solution for developing countries."</p>The <a href="https://www.int-res.com/articles/esr2020/41/n041p039.pdf" target="_blank">study</a> concluded that oversight is needed, saying its findings showed "the need for much improved monitoring, mitigation and management."
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Coral Reefs Could Be Completely Lost to the Climate Crisis by 2100, New Study Finds
20 February
Climate
A coral and fish community at the Great Barrier Reef, northeast of Port Douglas, Queensland, Australia, on Aug. 28, 2018. Francois Gohier / VWPics / Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Researchers released a sobering study this week showing that all of the world's coral reefs may be lost to the climate crisis by 2100.
<p>The bleak outlook means that restoration efforts will face Herculean challenges, according to the research presented by researchers at this week's <a href="https://www.agu.org/Ocean-Sciences-Meeting/" target="_blank">Ocean Sciences Meeting 2020</a> in San Diego, California.</p><p>Rising sea temperatures, acidic water and pollution are proving too much for the reefs to handle. About 70 to 90 percent of the world's existing coral reefs are predicted to disappear in the next two decades, according to scientists from the University of Hawaii Manoa, as <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/20/world/coral-reefs-2100-intl-hnk-scli-scn/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a> reported.</p><p>"By 2100, it's looking quite grim," said Renee Setter, a biogeographer at the University of Hawaii Manoa in a <a href="https://news.agu.org/press-release/warming-acidic-oceans-may-nearly-eliminate-coral-reef-habitats-by-2100/" target="_blank">statement</a>.</p><p>While pollution poses a large threat to many <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/oceans" target="_self">ocean</a> creatures, corals seem most at risk from emissions, according to the researchers.</p>
<p>"Trying to clean up the beaches is great and trying to combat pollution is fantastic. We need to continue those efforts," Setter said in a <a href="https://news.agu.org/press-release/warming-acidic-oceans-may-nearly-eliminate-coral-reef-habitats-by-2100/" target="_blank">statement</a>. "But at the end of the day, fighting climate change is really what we need to be advocating for in order to protect corals and avoid compounded stressors."</p><p>To make their predictions, the scientists mimicked future ocean conditions like sea surface temperature, wave energy, acidity, pollution and <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/overfishing" target="_self">overfishing</a> in areas where corals are today. Looking at those models, the scientists found that most parts of the ocean will not sustain habitats for corals by 2045, and almost no suitable habitats will exist by 2100, according to <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/climate-change-coral-reef-habitat/" target="_blank">CBS News</a>.</p><p>"Honestly, most sites are out," said Setter in the <a href="https://news.agu.org/press-release/warming-acidic-oceans-may-nearly-eliminate-coral-reef-habitats-by-2100/" target="_blank">statement</a>.</p>
<p>Coral reefs nurture about 25 percent of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/marine-life" target="_self">marine life</a> and support local economies worldwide. As <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/climate-change-coral-reef-habitat/" target="_blank">CBS News</a> noted, the new research is disheartening for efforts to restore corals by growing them in labs and then putting them back into the ocean. While those efforts have had a 60 percent success rate, the research suggests that lab-grown corals will not stand up to warming oceans and increased acidification.</p><p>Corals are extremely sensitive to ocean temperatures. When the temperature rises just a couple of degrees, corals experience mass <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coral-bleaching" target="_self">bleaching</a>, where coral turns white as it sheds the algae it relies on not only for survival, but also for its magnificent colors, as <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/climate-change-coral-reef-habitat/" target="_blank">CBS News</a> reported. Bleaching does not kill the coral, but it does weaken them, making them vulnerable to disease.</p>
<p>Scientists are predicting a mass bleaching within the next couple of weeks in Australia's <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/great-barrier-reef" target="_self">Great Barrier Reef</a>. The reef, which is nearly the length of Italy, is undergoing heat stress right now, with patches starting to bleach. While a major widespread bleaching has not occurred yet, scientists have warned that it is likely if high ocean temperatures around the reef do not drop in the next two weeks, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/feb/20/great-barrier-reef-on-brink-of-third-major-coral-bleaching-in-five-years-scientists-warn" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> reported.</p><p>Already, temperatures across two-thirds of the reef are about two to three degrees Celsius above normal, with typical peak temperatures still one month away.</p><p>"We are down to the wire," said professor Terry Hughes, director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University, according to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/feb/20/great-barrier-reef-on-brink-of-third-major-coral-bleaching-in-five-years-scientists-warn" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>.</p>
<p>The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has placed the Great Barrier Reef on Alert Level 1 for the next week, meaning significant bleaching is likely, according to the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-20/scientists-warn-potential-bleaching-great-barrier-reef/11984626" target="_blank">Australian Broadcasting Company</a>.<br></p><p>"Unfortunately we are a whisker away from bleaching disaster yet again because of global warming-driven marine heatwaves," said Shani Tager from the Australian Marine Conservation Society to the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-20/scientists-warn-potential-bleaching-great-barrier-reef/11984626" target="_blank">Australian Broadcasting Company</a>.</p><p>"As underwater heatwaves threaten once again to cook our corals, our politicians must move beyond half-baked plans to tackle global warming."</p>
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Two ice fishers with a truck cut a hole in the ice near an ice fishing hut on frozen Lake Winnebago.
Richard Hamilton Smith / Corbis NX / Getty Images
Richard Hamilton Smith / Corbis NX / Getty Images
By Susan Cosier
Come February in Wisconsin, almost everything will be covered in ice and snow. In little shanties on frozen Lake Winnebago, a 30-by-13-mile lake in the eastern part of the state, fishers will keep watch over rectangular holes cut into the ice with a chainsaw. When they spot a fin passing below, they'll jab their spears down deep. The lucky ones will earn themselves a lake sturgeon, a species that has prowled the earth's waters for more than 150 million years.
<p>Lake Winnebago is one of only two locations in the world where people can spearfish lake sturgeon. These armored fish, also distinguished by whiskerlike barbels growing from their chins, can live as long as a century, weigh as much as 200 pounds, and grow more than seven feet long. Every year, people gather on the lake for a 16-day fishing event. Just 500 licenses exist, a number that keeps overfishing in check while allowing nearly 1,000 sturgeon to be taken for their caviar (for those lucky enough to catch a female) and meat (delicious when smoked).</p>
<p>The sturgeon spearing event will mark its 80th season this year. And with the fish listed as threatened in <a href="https://www.fws.gov/midwest/sturgeon/biology.htm" target="_blank">19 of the 20 states where it's found</a>, Wisconsin wildlife officials consider the event one of a number of tactics that help educate people about the fish. (Another is an adoption program allowing members of the public to sponsor and hand-release young fish, reared at a state hatchery, into Lake Michigan and the Milwaukee River, part of the annual <a href="http://sturgeonfest.org/" target="_blank">SturgeonFest</a>.) Efforts to revive their populations have been somewhat successful, but it's been slow going: Female lake sturgeon don't start reproducing until they're at least 20 years old.</p>
<div id="66fd8" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="JT6JQV1579881990"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1220707948743352320" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">In Wisconsin, you can adopt and release a baby sturgeon or spear a giant one in Lake Winnebago, all part of an effo… https://t.co/fmSmz5PFU2</div> — NRDC 🌎 (@NRDC 🌎)<a href="https://twitter.com/NRDC/statuses/1220707948743352320">1579874429.0</a></blockquote></div><p>This biological fact, combined with overfishing, pollution, and habitat degradation, has resulted in their plight today. An estimated <a href="https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/species/fish/pdfs/Lake-Sturgeon-petition-5-14-18.pdf" target="_blank">15 million sturgeon</a> used to exist in the Great Lakes, with fishers bringing in upwards of four million pounds per year between 1879 and 1900. The trade took a serious toll on the species. By 1929, commercial sturgeon fishing had closed in Lake Michigan due to too few fish. And by the end of the century, fishers had taken 80 percent of the sturgeon out of Lake Erie. Meanwhile, dams and development ruined habitat and kept the fish from reaching key spawning grounds. In response to the population crash, most states instituted protections and mandated hunting limits in the 1990s and early 2000s.<br></p><p>Today, only 1 percent of the lake sturgeon's population remains. In addition to the states that list them as threatened, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service <a href="https://www.fws.gov/news/ShowNews.cfm?ref=service-completes-initial-reviews-on-petitions-to-list-three-species-&_ID=36445" target="_blank">announced</a> in August that it would study whether to list the fish as federally threatened or endangered. </p>
“The Right Thing for the Great Lakes”
<p>Ryan Koenigs, a fisheries biologist with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR), is among those dedicated to bringing the lake sturgeon back. He's part of a team that keeps track of every individual caught, and he helps run the registration stations where fishers who spear a sturgeon in Lake Winnebago must go before taking their catch home. Koenigs and his colleagues look for a passive integrated transponder (PIT) tag, which offers information about the fish. These tags are implanted in each fish reared or caught and released by the agency. Some individuals caught in the past few years were tagged decades ago. "I'm reaping the benefits right now of what the biologists two generations before me did in the 1970s," Koenigs says.</p><p>Restoration efforts also exist in many other states bordering the Great Lakes. In New York, the Department of Environmental Conservation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe harvest sturgeon eggs from the St. Lawrence River and send them to hatcheries in the central part of the state and in Wisconsin. In Michigan, fisheries biologists, researchers, and state agencies successfully protected the sturgeon population in Black Lake and now use the data collected from their efforts to guide their restocking of nearby lakes and streams.</p><p>These types of projects replenish waterways with the fish, but the species' recovery has a long way to go. Should conservationists succeed, the fish could end up benefiting the entire ecosystem, notes Ed Baker, a fisheries biologist in Michigan. "If we have a native species fish community that's been degraded, that's a sign that its environment is no longer healthy," he says. "If we can restore lake sturgeon to their prominence, or at least somewhat close to what their prominence was before we started harvesting them, that's a sign that we're doing the right thing for the Great Lakes."</p><p>As the lake sturgeon populations rebound, they could help biologists beat back some new threats, too. Notably, they eat <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/onearth/flexing-their-mussel" target="_blank">invasive zebra and quagga mussels</a> that now blanket the lake beds. They also eat invasive round gobies. All three of these marine species hail from faraway waters and snuck their way in through the ballast water used to balance ships' hulls.</p>
Mysteries Unsolved
<p>In 1995, Baker was tasked with finishing and implementing Michigan's new sturgeon rehabilitation plan. He observed reach after reach, finding only a few places were the fish still existed. One of those was the Upper Peninsula's Black Lake. Locals still spearfished sturgeon, and the population appeared to be falling. In 2001 Baker and Kim Scribner of Michigan State University set out to study the fish and get a rough population estimate. They concluded that over a 25-year period, sturgeon numbers had <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1577/1548-8675(1999)019%3C1080%3ALSAAHI%3E2.0.CO%3B2" target="_blank">declined by more than 60 percent</a>.</p><p>The state's Department of Natural Resources decided sturgeon spearfishing could continue, but fishers could harvest no more than five fish a year. Baker and his team stocked the lake, too, and the sturgeon population grew. The limit is now up to 14. Still, the population isn't recovering as quickly as expected.</p><p>To figure out why, Baker and Scribner continue their research. They also use the information they collect on basic sturgeon biology, genetics, and behavior to inform conservation efforts in other Michigan water bodies.</p><p>One major question they hope to answer concerns the timing of the sturgeon's reproduction. As with steelhead and salmon, it appears that the river where sturgeon spend the first summer of life, between May and October, is imprinted on the fish, and they come back to that place to spawn. Confirming this would help in their stocking efforts—especially in reaches where the fish haven't swum for decades.</p><p>In addition to the hatchling adopt-and-release program that takes place in September in Milwaukee, Wisconsonites get another opportunity to help biologists in April, when Koenigs does his stock assessments. On the Wolf River near Lake Winnebago, hundreds of thousands of sturgeon ranging in size from four to seven feet long swim along the waterline. Koenigs and his team stand at the ready with nets to pull the fish out of the water, then weigh, measure, and tag them.</p><p>When the team finds fish with those tags implanted during the February spearfishing season, they track the data to get a tagged to non-tagged fish ratio, which is then used to set harvest limits. The data collected at each event helps inform how best to manage the species.</p><p>"We're on the right path," says Koenigs, who is now prepping for the spearfishing season that begins on Feb. 8. "The work that's being done through these various efforts seems to be showing some pretty promising signs."</p>
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A new report spotlights a U.N. estimate that at least 275 million people rely on healthy coral reefs. A sea turtle near the Heron Island in the Great Barrier Reef is seen above. THE OCEAN AGENCY / XL CATLIN SEAVIEW SURVEY
In a new report about how the world's coral reefs face "the combined threats of climate change, pollution, and overfishing" — endangering the future of marine biodiversity — a London-based nonprofit calls for greater global efforts to end the climate crisis and ensure the survival of these vital underwater ecosystems.
<p>The report, entitled <a href="https://ejfoundation.org/resources/downloads/EJF-Report-Coral-Reefs.pdf" target="_blank"><em>Marine Havens Under Threat: The impacts of the climate crisis on tropical coral reefs and the communities that rely on them</em></a>, was published Wednesday by the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF).</p>
<p>EJF warns that because of <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/08/13/humanitys-destruction-oceans-nearly-doubled-over-decade-scientists-warn-and-could" target="_blank">human activities</a> that heat and pollute the planet, coral reefs "are under imminent risk of destruction," pointing to a recent estimate from the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that global warming of 2°C could kill 99 percent of all corals.</p>
<div id="c5894" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="X2PHE71579807416"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1220032163036434432" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">#coralreefs are incredibly biodiverse, but they also provide a huge range of benefits, from medicines to protection… https://t.co/E2Z19ZKeEh</div> — Environmental Justice Foundation (@Environmental Justice Foundation)<a href="https://twitter.com/ejfoundation/statuses/1220032163036434432">1579713309.0</a></blockquote></div><p>The ocean, which <a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/oceanwater.html" target="_blank">covers</a> more than 70 percent of the planet, "has taken up between 20–30% of total anthropogenic CO2 emissions since the 1980s causing further ocean acidification," <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/09/25/un-climate-report-oceans-frozen-regions-warns-unprecedented-transitions-all-aspects" target="_blank">according to</a> an IPCC special report from last year. The lead author of a study published last week <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/01/14/adding-five-six-hiroshima-bombs-heat-each-second-study-shows-oceans-warming-record" target="_blank">said</a> that "the amount of heat we have put in the world's oceans in the past 25 years equals to 3.6 billion Hiroshima atom-bomb explosions."</p><p>Some scientists refer to three key climate-related pressures on the marine environment — warming, acidification, and oxygen loss — as the "<a href="https://www.iucn.org/resources/issues-briefs/ocean-acidification" target="_blank">deadly trio</a>." Experts also warn that human-caused global heating leads to sea level rise and certain <a href="https://www.climatecommunication.org/climate/global-warming/" target="_blank">extreme weather events</a> becoming more frequent and intense.</p><p>"As the global temperature rises, reefs will be put at risk from warming oceans, higher frequency cyclones, increased precipitation, sea level rise, rising acidification, and changing ocean circulation," the EJF report says. "These factors alter the delicate balance of conditions necessary for tropical coral reefs to function, causing bleaching and destruction of reefs. In many cases, this damage is irreversible."</p>
<div id="ed3f4" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="IT1H081579807416"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1220003197558906881" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Some of the most diverse ecosystems on earth rely on coral reefs. Find out about their vital role in a new… https://t.co/OcF99JBEJU</div> — Environmental Justice Foundation (@Environmental Justice Foundation)<a href="https://twitter.com/ejfoundation/statuses/1220003197558906881">1579706403.0</a></blockquote></div><p>Marine heatwaves, which experts <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/01/16/scale-failure-has-no-precedent-scientists-say-hot-ocean-blob-killed-one-million" target="_blank">warn</a> will become more common as humans continue to heat the planet, have led to major coral bleaching events around the world in recent years. A study from 2018 <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/04/19/beyond-comprehension-just-two-years-half-all-corals-forever-damaged-great-barrier" target="_blank">concluded</a> that the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia, the world's largest coral system, was "forever damaged" following back-to-back bleaching events that collectively killed half of the corals.</p><p>Bleaching refers to when stressors such as warm water and pollution lead coral to expel algae, its main food source, and turn white. Bleached coral faces a greater risk of disease and death but can recover if surrounding conditions improve. Last year, a <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/08/09/example-unknown-unknowns-study-detailing-almost-instant-mortality-corals-suggests" target="_blank">study</a> about severe marine heatwaves heightened alarm about the future; researchers found cases where "the water temperatures are so warm that the coral animal doesn't bleach—in terms of a loss of its symbiosis—the animal dies and its underlying skeleton is all that remains."</p><p>EJF, in its new report and an accompanying video, highlighted the consequences of coral bleaching and death events for both marine wildlife and humans.</p>
Coral Reefs in Crisis
<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/386250260" width="100%" height="480" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="fcffbfeac80dddb74a304966b7f5995a"></iframe><p>"Tropical coral reefs support an estimated quarter of all marine species: hundreds of thousands of animal and plant species, who rely on the reef for food, shelter, and a safe place to live and reproduce," the report says. "These complex ecosystems include hard and soft corals, sponges, crustaceans, molluscs, fish, sea turtles, sharks, dolphins, and much more—including 'foundation' and 'keystone' species such as corals and sea turtles."</p><p>The report also spotlights a U.N. estimate that at least 275 million people rely on healthy coral reefs as an "essential source of food, employment, income, and storm protection for coastal communities."</p><p>In terms of the economic value of coral reefs, EJF puts tourism and recreation at $9.6 billion, coastal protection at $9 billion, fisheries at $5.7 billion, and wildlife at $5.5 billion. Directly below the economic figures, the report features "a note of caution: Valuing biodiversity in this way is of course subjective, how do we put a value on a species' intrinsic right to exist?"</p><div id="96a58" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="OUGNN41579807416"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1219881136559722497" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">#Coralreefs are more than just beautiful. They are a source of income, protein, recreation and safety from storms f… https://t.co/TmKaBvTQy3</div> — Environmental Justice Foundation (@Environmental Justice Foundation)<a href="https://twitter.com/ejfoundation/statuses/1219881136559722497">1579677301.0</a></blockquote></div><p>To combat the triple threat that coral reefs are facing, EJF puts forth recommendations to end the climate crisis: implement the Paris agreement and fully transition all industrial economies to zero carbon by 2030, create a European Union inter-agency taskforce "to drive a more effective, integrated" global response, and establish a U.N. special rapporteur on human rights, economic well-being, and climate change.</p><p>EJF presents another set of specific recommendations to ensure that remaining corals "survive the climate change that is irreversible," calling for an end to illegal and unsustainable fishing as well as pollution that harms coral, including agricultural runoff, sewage, and plastic. The group also calls for expanding marine protected areas to cover at least 30% of the ocean, and assuring that such zones have "clear restrictions and effective conservation aims."</p><p>"In all deliberations and future negotiations," the report adds, "all stakeholders must be included, with special reference to local communities."</p><p>Acknowledging that coral reefs "are not only a vital source of food and income for millions of people" but also "home to a vast diversity of irreplaceable wildlife," EJF executive director Steve Trent <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2020/01/22/corals-and-communities-ejf-report-highlights-devastating-impacts-climate-crisis" target="_blank">warned</a> Wednesday that "failure to act now to protect them will cause environmental ruin and with it a human tragedy."</p>
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A Chinese paddlefish exhibited in the Museum of Hydrobiological Sciences, Wuhan Institute of Hydrobiology of Chinese Academy of Sciences. Alneth / CC BY-SA 4.0
Scientists have concluded of the largest freshwater fish species in the world is now extinct because of human activity.
<p>The Chinese paddlefish, sometimes called the "panda of the Yangtze River," was found to have been lost to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/overfishing" target="_self">overfishing</a> and habitat destruction, <a href="https://phys.org/news/2020-01-chinese-paddlefish-declared-extinct.html" target="_blank">Phys.org reported Wednesday</a>. Its extinction was announced and documented by researchers at the Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences in a paper published in<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969719362382" target="_blank"> Science of the Total Environment</a>.</p><p>It's "a reprehensible and an irreparable loss," study leader Qiwei Wei told <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2020/01/chinese-paddlefish-one-of-largest-fish-extinct/?cmpid=org%3Dngp%3A%3Amc%3Dsocial%3A%3Asrc%3Dfacebook%3A%3Acmp%3Deditorial%3A%3Aadd%3Dfb20200108animals-chinesepaddlefishextinct%3A%3Arid%3D&sf227680806=1&fbclid=IwAR2zFzJOTjypqsCf1LtEabiQJLxV2use5Hzltosbiwld2nmt50yRxccjMa0" target="_blank">National Geographic</a>.</p><p>The Chinese paddlefish could grow to be 23 feet long and 992 pounds in weight, <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/01/07/asia/chinese-paddlefish-extinct-study-intl-hnk-scli/index.html" target="_blank">according to CNN</a>. It took its name from its long snout, according to Phys.org. It was also ancient: The species had existed since 200 million years ago and survived the extinction of the dinosaurs, National Geographic pointed out.</p><p>The species declined slowly in the last century, at first because of fishing. In the 1970s, 25 tons worth were caught a year. But an even more devastating change came when the Gezhouba Dam was built on the Yangtze in 1981, dividing the fish from its spawning grounds. The scientists think the species was functionally extinct by 1993, meaning there weren't enough of them left to reproduce effectively. The last time scientists saw one alive was 2003.</p>
<p>The study authors searched for evidence of the fish from 2017 to 2018 by setting up nets and visiting fish markets but found no evidence that any were left alive, Phys.org explained. The researchers think it died out between 2005 and 2010 and recommend that it be considered extinct according to IUCN Red List criteria, the study said.</p><p>"There have been no successful cases of breeding the Chinese paddlefish in captivity," Wei told state broadcaster CCTV, as CNN reported. "Hence, when it died out in the wild, the species has become completely extinct."</p><p>While it is too late to save the Chinese paddlefish, the researchers hope to use the lessons from its demise to save other <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/endangered-species" target="_self">endangered species</a> that live in the Yangtze. The study authors could not find another 140 river species they wanted to see and think it is important to study some of them further to determine their <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/conservation" target="_self">conservation</a> status, according to National Geographic.</p>
<p>"We must urgently act to save those species for which some chance still remains," Ivan Jaric, a study co-author and biologist at Czechia's Institute of Hydrobiology and the University of South Bohemia, told National Geographic.</p><p>The Chinese paddlefish's fate also shines a spotlight on large freshwater fish worldwide. Most big freshwater animals are threatened with extinction, University of Nevada, Reno fish biologist Zeb Hogan, who was not involved with the study, told National Geographic.</p><p>"This is the first of these very large freshwater fish to go and many are at risk—the concern is that more will go extinct, but the hope is that we can reverse their decline before it's too late," Hogan said.</p>
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Elizabeth Warren's Blue New Deal aims to expand offshore renewable energy projects, like the Block Island Wind Farm in Rhode Island. Luke H. Gordon / Flickr
By Julia Conley
Sen. Elizabeth Warren expanded her vision for combating the climate crisis on Tuesday with the release of her Blue New Deal — a new component of the Green New Deal focusing on protecting and restoring the world's oceans after decades of pollution and industry-caused warming.
<p>The plan includes proposals for an array of ocean-related issues — including <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels" target="_self">fossil fuel</a> emissions, ocean acidification, <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/overfishing" target="_self">overfishing</a> and the destruction of coastal communities. The Massachusetts Democrat and 2020 primary contender <a href="https://medium.com/@teamwarren/we-need-a-blue-new-deal-for-our-oceans-4efd971e0992" target="_blank">wrote</a> in a Medium post that "a Blue New Deal must be an essential part of any Green New Deal."</p><p>"As we pursue climate justice, we must not lose sight of the 71% of our planet covered by the ocean," Warren wrote. "While the ocean is severely threatened, it can also be a major part of the climate solution — from providing new sources of clean energy to supporting a new future of ocean farming."</p>
<p>In keeping with the Green New Deal's focus on a "just transition" for fossil fuel sector workers, the plan aims to expand offshore <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/renewable-energy/" target="_self">renewable energy</a> exploration as Warren follows through with an <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/elizabeth-warren-id-end-offshore-drilling-on-day-one-of-my-presidency" target="_blank">earlier promise</a> to impose a moratorium on offshore oil and gas drilling.</p><p>Along with reversing President Donald <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/trump-watch/" target="_self">Trump</a>'s inaction on offshore renewables, Warren wrote that she will "work to streamline and fast-track permitting for offshore renewable energy, including making sure projects are sited with care based on environmental impact assessments."</p><p>Coastal communities hosting the projects will be consulted regarding transparency, environmental and labor standards, and community agreements will ensure that those living in these areas see a share of the benefits. With Warren's planned investment in the industry, she wrote, the U.S. could come closer to filling 36,000 well-paying offshore renewable energy jobs.</p><p>The progressive think tank Data for Progress <a href="https://www.dataforprogress.org/blog/2019/12/10/elizabeth-warrens-blue-new-deal" target="_blank">praised </a>the senator for giving consideration to an "essential" component of combating the climate emergency.</p><p>"Tackling climate change must include a comprehensive plan to address the emergency gripping our oceans, where the harms of warming are becoming alarmingly apparent to researchers, fishermen, and communities alike," wrote Johnny Bowman, Julian Brave NoiseCat and Sean McElwee. "This is an essential (and admittedly less sexy) part of the agenda for equitable decarbonization. Senator Warren has distinguished herself by studying the details."</p><p>Other areas in which Warren plans to introduce measures to boost the U.S. economy while protecting the environment include fishing and ocean farming.</p>
<p>Whereas one-in-four fish eaten in the U.S. are now shipped to Asia for processing before being re-imported into American markets, Warren would invest $5 billion over ten years to expand the USDA's Local Agriculture Market Program. The investment would help employ people at U.S.-based food hubs and distribution centers while reducing the massive carbon footprint caused by the current system.</p><p>The Blue New Deal was released as University of Delaware researchers published a <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/12/10/new-england-fishing-communities-being-destroyed-climate-shocks-study" target="_blank">new study</a> in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences showing that the climate crisis has led to a 16% decline in jobs in New England's fishing industry, stemming from variations in water temperatures.</p><p>The senator would also direct the USDA to research and develop policies for ocean-based farming, paying farmers for their contributions to the climate change fight and including the industry in disaster assistance programs.</p><p>"Land-based farmers have long been supported by the USDA, but in a world of rising seas, increasing ocean temperatures, and ocean acidification, we must expand that support to include ocean farming as well," Warren wrote. "Algae and seaweed are the trees of our oceans, absorbing carbon and helping to reduce ocean acidification and pollution locally, and are valuable sources of nutrition ... These resources even have the potential to become a key ingredient in renewable fuels."</p><p>Warren added that under her administration, agribusiness companies would be held accountable for the water pollution they've caused for decades. Loopholes they've used to get away with exacerbating toxic algal blooms, harming <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/marine-life" target="_self">marine life</a> and contaminating drinking water would be closed, and enforcement of the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts would be strengthened.</p><p>In addition to investing in coastal communities through offshore renewable energy projects, Warren promised to quintuple investment in FEMA's pre-disaster mitigation grant program, which Trump has proposed slashing.</p><p>"As the saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and I want to ensure we protect the 40% of Americans who live in coastal counties," Warren wrote.</p><p>"Studies have shown that every dollar invested in disaster mitigation saves $6 overall."</p><p>The League of Conservation Voters and Fridays for Future organizer Alexandria Villaseñor were among those who praised the senator on social media.</p><p>Greenpeace climate campaigner Jack Shapiro said it is "vital that our next president realize we're already in hot water" and recognize that "the climate crisis is an oceans crisis."</p><p>"Instead of opening virtually all U.S. waters to dangerous oil and gas drilling — as Trump has so far unsuccessfully tried to do — we should be shifting investment to clean, community-powered renewable energy and giving our oceans a chance to recover from decades of industrial exploitation," said Shapiro. "We're glad to see Senator Warren putting ocean protection on the national stage with this plan."</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/12/10/warren-says-blue-new-deal-crucial-because-future-people-and-planet-depends-healthy" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>.</em></p>Related Articles Around the Web
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The climate crisis is changing the New England fishing industry, a new report says. Ed Dunens / Flickr
By Eoin Higgins
The climate crisis is hurting the New England fishing industry, claims a new report published Monday, with a decline of 16% in fishing jobs in the northeastern U.S. region from 1996 to 2017 and more instability ahead.
<p>University of Delaware researcher Kimberly Oremus' <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/12/10/pnas.org/content/early/2019/12/03/1820154116" target="_blank">paper</a>, "Climate variability reduces employment in New England fisheries," was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.</p><p>"This is an important signal to incorporate into the fisheries management process," Oremus <a href="https://phys.org/news/2019-12-england-fishermen-jobs-due-climate.html" target="_blank">told</a> <em>Science X</em>. "We need to figure out what climate is doing to fisheries in order to cope with it."</p><p>Oresmus found that the fishing industry is in trouble due to variations in <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/oceans" target="_self">ocean</a> temperature. Of particular concern is the Gulf of Maine, an area of the ocean warming faster than nearly any other in the world.</p><p>"New England waters are among the fastest-warming in the world," said Oremus said. "Warmer-than-average sea-surface temperatures have been shown to impact the productivity of lobsters, sea scallops, groundfish and other fisheries important to the region, especially when they are most vulnerable, from spawning through their first year of life."</p>
<p>As The New Food Economy explained, the New England fishing industry has been under threat for decades due to <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/overfishing" target="_self">overfishing</a> and climate change.</p><blockquote>Due to overfishing, cod stocks are nearly depleted. To avert complete collapse, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration now sets limits on fish catches, or quotas. In the past decade, catches have plummeted, from 100 million pounds of cod in the early 1980s to a fraction today. </blockquote><p>Oresums told HuffPost's Alexander Kaufman that while her research shows the fisheries' decline is driven by warmer winters, she wasn't able to get a full picture of the crisis.</p><p>"This doesn't capture all the anthropogenic climate change," said Oresmus. "There's probably additional warming on top of the variability that I don't account for."</p><p><a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/new-england-fish_n_5dee8f3fe4b07f6835b73fa0" target="_blank">According to</a> Kaufman:</p><blockquote>The Gulf of Maine, which stretches from Nova Scotia in Canada to Cape Cod, Massachusetts, has warmed faster than 99% of global oceans, increasing by an average of <a href="https://climate.nasa.gov/news/2798/watery-heatwave-cooks-the-gulf-of-maine/" target="_blank">0.11 degrees Fahrenheit</a> per year over the past three decades. While temperatures fluctuate, melting Arctic ice is weakening the southward current that once flushed the basin with cold waters from Greenland, putting the basin's temperatures on a firm upward trajectory.</blockquote><blockquote>The effects have made the fishing industry even less predictable than in years past. Record lobster hauls over the past decade in Maine now look set to decline, according to <a href="https://apnews.com/578827da5d9642e685de612a951d6916" target="_blank">two studies published</a> in the past month. The New England fishery for Northern shrimp, once a winter mainstay, is set to <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/maine-shrimp-climate_n_5da8b76fe4b0b5c9be4b4c43" target="_blank">remain closed for a seventh</a> consecutive year. An iconic seafood processing firm in Gloucester, Massachusetts, <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2019/05/11/gloucester-based-seafood-company-closes-abruptly-leaving-unemployed/QYpkWmq8cZ8fD6AFA9eLpI/story.html" target="_blank">went bankrupt</a> in May. </blockquote><p>Ultimately, Oresmus told The New Food Economy, New Englanders have to prepare for a different-looking coastal future.</p><p>"The individuals who can't weather these climate shocks are the small mom-and-pop businesses and smaller fishing establishments," said Oresmus. "There are communities that are just not going to be fishing communities anymore."</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/12/10/new-england-fishing-communities-being-destroyed-climate-shocks-study?cd-origin=rss" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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5 Ways Sustainable Seafood Can Benefit People and the Environment
29 October 2019
Insights + Opinion
A woman carries fish in Nauta, Peru. Oceana / Shutterstock / Christian Vinces
By Emily Petsko
For many, the end of October evokes images of falling leaves or Halloween's ghosts and ghouls. But those of us focused on oceans also know October as National Seafood Month.
<p>Oceana works to save the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/oceans/" target="_blank">oceans</a> and feed the world, and we can't do that without sustainable seafood. We help our oceans thrive by promoting fishery policies that follow science-based quotas, reduce bycatch, put an end to overfishing and protect fragile habitats. These tactics not only help marine life flourish — a win in its own right — but also ensure that our oceans can continue to nourish the people who need it most.</p><p>Seafood is an indispensable part of many people's diets, livelihoods and cultural traditions. This is especially true for populations that don't have access to an alternate source of healthy, affordable protein. In recognition of National Seafood Month, here are five ways that seafood can sustain and support communities around the world.</p>
1. Seafood can provide a healthy source of protein to a growing population.
<p>Right now, 821 million people around the world are living in hunger. This problem isn't likely to disappear anytime soon, especially with the population projected to grow by 2 billion people over the next 30 years. But by ensuring that fisheries are managed sustainably, and within scientifically sound parameters, we can restore ocean abundance and put enough fish in our waters to feed a sizable portion of the planet. If we look after our oceans properly and avoid overexploiting their resources, they could provide a nutritious meal every day for 1 billion people.</p>2. Seafood could fill the micronutrient void that exists in many developing countries.
<p>Enough fish are caught in many developing countries to nourish their populations, and yet malnutrition remains a persistent problem. How can this be? A team of researchers, including Oceana Science Advisor Dr. Eddie Allison, found that the fish being caught in tropical countries are chock full of important micronutrients — including calcium, iron, zinc, selenium, omega-3 and vitamin A — but they don't always end up on local people's plates. That's because much of the catch is exported, sometimes for the sole purpose of being churned into fishmeal and fed to carnivorous farmed fish like salmon, which are ultimately consumed by people in higher-income countries.</p><p>This has consequences for both local people and the economy. "A lack of fish-derived nutrients has been found to have a large effect on public health, notably infant mortality and hence GDP," Oceana Board Member and fisheries scientist Dr. Daniel Pauly wrote in a <a href="https://oceana.org/blog/daniel-pauly-having-access-fish-good-us" target="_blank">response</a> to the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-019-1592-6" target="_blank">study</a>, which was led by Dr. Christina Hicks. That's why, when we consider the benefits of seafood, it's important to also consider who has access to those benefits.</p>3. Seafood tends to be a low-carbon food, so it reduces the strain on the environment.
<p>Compared to land-based animal proteins like beef and pork, wild-caught seafood has a significantly lower carbon footprint (as long as it's not being carted around the planet by plane). Plus, it requires virtually no fresh water or arable land to harvest it. At a time when concerns over habitat destruction and <a href="https://oceana.org/blog/climate-change-and-oceans-what-you-need-know-united-nations%E2%80%99-new-report" target="_blank">climate change</a> are growing, it's more vital than ever to rethink our global food systems.</p><p>A recent <a href="http://dev-oceanpanel.pantheonsite.io/sites/default/files/2019-09/19_HLP_Report_Ocean_Solution_Climate_Change_final.pdf" target="_blank">report</a> from the High Level Panel for A Sustainable Ocean Economy suggested that climate change could be mitigated, in part, by shifting global diets towards plant- and ocean-based options. "Food from the sea, produced using best practices, can (with some notable exceptions) have some of the lowest greenhouse gas emissions per unit of protein produced of all protein sources," the panel wrote.</p>4. The fishing sector provides jobs to millions of people — half of whom are women.
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjA0NTkxMC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0MjQ1NzU4MX0.oXvmpilVB0-MJEhsqxKrSRD_AU855m0QPizlAXoIoe4/img.jpg?width=980" id="a29f6" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="2913e41194d8df4252bfc88b9adb73ed" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />Women and children fish in Pemba, Mozambique. © OCEANA / Ana de la Torriente
<p>Roughly 120 million people work in capture fisheries around the world. Over 95% of those people live in developing countries, and nearly half of them are women. Although fishing is typically viewed as a "masculine" occupation, many women make a living by spearing octopus, digging for clams, diving for abalone and packing and processing seafood. This industry is particularly important in small island nations. In Palau and Seychelles, for instance, 10% to 50% of their GDPs may be derived from fisheries, according to <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesellsmoor/2019/01/26/rethinking-our-oceans-investing-in-the-blue-economy/#603e11983531" target="_blank"><em>Forbes</em></a>.</p>5. Fisheries are vital to many Indigenous coastal communities.
<p>Indigenous peoples eat roughly 2 percent of all the seafood caught annually around the world, according to a 2016 <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0166681" target="_blank">study</a> written by Dr. Andrés Cisneros-Montemayor and co-authored by Dr. Pauly. Considering that Indigenous groups comprise just 5% of the global population, their seafood consumption works out to be 15 times higher than that of non-Indigenous peoples.</p><p>So what exactly does this mean? As the study's authors put it: "Marine resources are crucial to the continued existence of coastal Indigenous peoples, and their needs must be explicitly incorporated into management policies." Canada's revamped <em>Fisheries Act</em>, which was championed by Oceana and our allies, is a good example of how this can be achieved. The new version of the Act recognizes Indigenous knowledge and states that the Minster of Fisheries and Oceans has a duty to consider any adverse effects that decisions may have on Indigenous peoples.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjA0NTkxMy9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0ODg2Mzc3M30.7ITuUQW2vlRL8J39VmOqZXZ4o69GwdBUWmDDPzN6Bm0/img.jpg?width=980" id="3a3a5" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="75cb9d6fcfce4609f1bf30658b8f13dd" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Fish at a market in Punta Gorda, Belize. © OCEANA / A. Ellis
<p>From coastal communities to octopus fishers to people living in the tropics, it's clear that millions of people around the world depend on abundant oceans. Of course, when we talk about the benefits of seafood, sustainability is an important caveat. <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/overfishing" rel="noopener noreferrer">Overfishing</a> and destructive fishing methods are still ravaging marine habitats, rendering them less capable of providing for people's nutritional needs in the future. That's why, when you select a fish from a restaurant or your local supermarket's seafood counter, it's important to check the source. The Monterey Bay Aquarium has a helpful tool called <a href="https://www.seafoodwatch.org/" target="_blank">Seafood Watch</a> that simplifies the process.</p><p><em>Want to learn more about how Oceana is helping to save the oceans and feed the world? Visit their campaign page <a href="https://oceana.org/feedtheworld" target="_blank">here</a>.</em></p><p><em>Reposted with permission from our media partner <a href="https://oceana.org/blog/5-ways-sustainable-seafood-can-benefit-people-and-environment" rel="noopener noreferrer">Oceana</a>.</em></p>
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Tuna auctions are a tourist spectacle in Tokyo. Outside the city's most famous fish market, long queues of visitors hoping for a glimpse of the action begin to form at 5 a.m. The attraction is so popular that last October the Tsukiji fish market, in operation since 1935, moved out from the city center to the district of Toyosu to cope with the crowds.
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<p>Spectators can now watch the auction of fresh and frozen tuna from a specially designed Tuna Auction Observation Deck. Because tuna, which can weigh up to 650 kilos (1,433 pounds), is definitely the star of the show. This year a giant bluefin sold for $3.1 million (€2.77 million) at Toyosu, smashing previous records.</p><p>Yet as <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/seafood" target="_self">seafood</a> tourism in Japan booms, global fish stocks are <a href="http://wwf.panda.org/knowledge_hub/endangered_species/cetaceans/threats/fishstocks/" target="_blank">plummeting</a>. Bluefin tuna is among the worst affected — it's now one of the most <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/overfishing">over-exploited fish</a> in the ocean, with all three bluefin species <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/endangered-species" rel="noopener noreferrer">endangered</a>.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMDYyODc1Mi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzMTAwOTU0M30.9IjcaClWfRQXV8rsuc_tpJusDoGVXXfNPC1D2OsbVM4/img.jpg?width=980" id="f7070" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="367bd566cc86babe2ecc892f0c92967e" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Tuna is the star of the show: The meaty fish is in such high demand that stocks have come under severe pressure.
<p>Following the Olympics' focus on sustainable food in Rio and London, Japan is under pressure to provide eco-friendly seafood to the huge numbers of visitors expected in Tokyo for the 2020 games.</p><p>"We want to establish sustainable seafood elements," said Wakao Hanaoka, founder of Tokyo-based sustainable seafood consultancy, Seafood Legacy. "We want to use this 2020 Olympics as a chance to boost acceleration of the movement in Japan."</p><p>Right now, that's no easy task.</p><h2>Tuna off the Menu</h2><p>Japan is one of the world's biggest consumers of seafood, at around 33 kilos (approximately 73 pounds) per capita in 2016, Euromonitor. By comparison, Italians consumed 16 kilos per capita in the same year.</p><p>To serve seafood certified as sustainable by the internationally recognized Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) to visitors during the games, Japan would have to rely mainly on imports. The country has just one MSC-certified sustainable seafood restaurant.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMDYyODc1OS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxMTkyMjY5N30.80LLK0bP_01Vgmoya__YG2DU3dtrgLiXJ3c9WeXL5RI/img.jpg?width=980" id="d5b36" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="d79f263846ca024c01eed1bb2371402f" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Lively trade: In Tokyo, the fish market isn't just big business, it's become a tourist attraction.
<p>Restaurant Blue opened its doors in 2017. The chefs use just two local MSC/ASC-certified products, and get the rest from overseas. One thing you definitely won't find at the restaurant is tuna, said Kota Shibai, who works at both the Tokyo eatery and Seafood Legacy.</p><p>"Many customers ask me why there is no tuna at Restaurant Blue … I think it's a great opportunity to explain about the situation of the Japanese fisheries industry," Shibai said. "At the moment, the situation of Japanese tuna is a bit far from sustainability."</p><h2>Bluewashing Japanese Fisheries</h2><p>This is news to many consumers. Hanaoka from Seafood Legacy says raising awareness is key to protecting fish stocks. "Many Japanese don't want to eat up all the fish from the ocean, they just don't realize yet [that stocks are so low], " he said.</p><p>Yet even for those in the know who want to protect the future of their country's favorite cuisine, critics say labeling can be confusing.</p><p>Japan has its own sustainable certification standards: industry groups introduced MEL in 2007 and AEL in 2014, which fisheries have taken up far more enthusiastically than the international certifications.</p><p>That's because they are far easier to achieve. Isao Sakaguchi, a law professor specializing in fisheries at Tokyo's Gakushuin University says the bar is so low that, "theoretically any wild-capture fisheries and aquaculture farmers can be certified as 'blue' by the local schemes" — blue denoting marine <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/sustainability">sustainability</a>.</p><p>A Pacific bluefin tuna fishery was certified by MEL in 2015, even as bluefin tuna numbers were at historic lows. The fishery would never have passed the tests to be certified by MSC, Sakaguchi said, calling this "bluewashing."</p>
<h2>Mixed Signals From Government</h2><p>The Tokyo Olympic organizing committee's guidelines for serving "sustainable fishery products" in the Olympic and Paralympic villages and other Tokyo Game's venues says MEL and AEL fishery products satisfy <a href="https://tokyo2020.org/en/games/sustainability/data/commentary-fishery-EN.pdf" target="_blank">sustainable criteria</a>. </p><p>Hanaoka and Seafood Legacy, meanwhile, have been looking into how organizers might provide seafood that meets higher standards of sustainability. Last year, Hanaoka visited London to find out how the 2012 Olympics ensured its fish and chips could be enjoyed guilt-free.</p><p>Turns out, they only offered two types of fish, which is fine for Britain's favorite takeout, but difficult to apply in Japan, where visitors will be eager to try sushi that includes as many as 10 to 20 species in a single dish.</p><p>"Mostly we are importing, so when we welcome guests from foreign countries to Japan, we serve sushi and it's a set of imported products and endangered species – that's not something to be proud of as Japanese people," said Hanaoka</p><p>The Japanese government has signaled that it's beginning to take this situation seriously. In December last year the biggest of its fishing laws for 70 years was enacted, which includes more limits on what can be caught, as well as recovery plans for overfished species.</p><p>"The government is slow but it's starting to tighten up its legislation," said Hanaoka. "Bit by bit, it's getting better."</p><p>Yet Japan's commitment to marine <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/conservation" rel="noopener noreferrer">conservation</a> looks a lot less convincing since the country resumed commercial whaling in July, after a 33-year moratorium.</p><p>For now, Tokyo's tourists and sports fans will have to choose carefully if they want to be sure they aren't eating threatened species. Most local catches might be off the menu, but among the glittering array of produce at the Toyosu fish market, sea urchin and flying squid are tipped as good bets for flavor and sustainability.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Eating Seafood Can Reduce Your Carbon Footprint, But Some Fish Are Better Than Others <a href="https://t.co/GcsvrqZYxE">https://t.co/GcsvrqZYxE</a> <a href="https://t.co/Oyzmj1bQLg">pic.twitter.com/Oyzmj1bQLg</a></p>— Azula (@azula) <a href="https://twitter.com/azula/status/968383463580667904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 27, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from our media associate <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/is-the-2020-olympics-an-opportunity-for-japan-to-tackle-seafood-sustainability/a-50004198" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">DW</a>.</em></p>
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