Small-scale fisheries at sunset in Malaysia.

Leading scientists redefine the notion of ‘sustainability’ to save the ocean

Small-scale fisheries at sunset in Malaysia.

Small-scale fisheries in Malaysia. Photo by Jamie Oliver – WorldFish, Flickr.

A week before Brussels’ Ocean Week and a few months before the UN Ocean Conference in Nice, a group of researchers published the results of an unprecedented scientific effort: they redefine the concept of ‘sustainable fishing’ and propose eleven ‘golden rules’ that radically challenge the flawed notion that currently prevails in fisheries management.

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Daniel Pauly presenting before the European Parliament, January 24, 2023

Sea Around Us presents report findings at the European Parliament

Daniel Pauly presenting before the European Parliament, January 24, 2023

Daniel Pauly presenting before the European Parliament, January 24, 2023. Photo by Anton Kuech, Twitter

The Sea Around Us Principal Investigator, Dr. Daniel Pauly, and Project Manager, Dr. Maria ‘Deng’ Palomares, participated in a session of the European Parliament’s Committee on Fisheries on January 24, 2023, to answer questions related to the report Role and impact of China on world fisheries and aquaculture.

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As fishing effort grows, catches decline in the Mozambique Channel region

As fishing effort grows, catches decline in the Mozambique Channel region

As fishing effort grows, catches decline in the Mozambique Channel region

Traditional fishing pirogue in Madagascar. Photo by Jonathan Talbot, World Resources Institute, Flickr

Substantial growth in the number of motorized vessels operating in the Mozambique Channel region between East Africa and Madagascar in the past 65 years has led to a 60-fold increase in effective small-scale fishing effort and a 91 per cent decline in Catch Per Unit of Effort (CPUE).

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Preliminary assessments of 26 West African fish stocks hint at overexploited populations

Preliminary assessment of 26 West African fish stocks points at overexploited populations

Preliminary assessments of 26 West African fish stocks hint at overexploited populations

Bonga shad (Ethmalosa fimbriat) taken from the waters of Guinea Bissau. Photo by Falia, Wikimedia Commons.

Twenty-six fish and invertebrate populations that live in the waters of eight West African countries are likely overfished or at risk of being overfished, a new Fisheries Centre Research Report reveals.

Preliminary results from the application of the CMSY and LBB stock assessment methods to fish populations in the EEZs of Cape Verde, The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, Senegal and Sierra Leone, indicate that some stocks – such as that of cassava croaker off the coast of Liberia – are strongly overexploited.

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