Helostoma temminckii or kissing gourami. Image by Jörn, Wikimedia Commons.
Image from City of Shells by Mike Sakas.
Pearls, aphrodisiac concoctions, and Asian sauces. When we, ‘moderns,’ think about oysters, we rarely connect them to the substrate of a city.
Hong Kong and its Pearl River Delta area, as it turns out, have been built both structurally and socio-culturally atop what used to be extensive oyster reefs. However, these ecosystems have been decimated by dredging for lime and mega-city development.
Fisherman casting net at sunset in Mandalay. Photo by Pyae Phyo Aung, Pexels.
Official statistics from most coastal countries only account for a fraction of what their fisheries catch, the Sea Around Us data and analyses have demonstrated.
As we observe World Fisheries Day 2025, which aims to highlight the importance of promoting sustainable fish stocks and the rights of small-scale fishing communities, it is crucial to remember that without comprehensive data, managing sustainable fisheries is akin to flying blind.
Daniel Pauly, Anna Luna Rossi and Fabrice Teletchea at the 2025 International Congress on Aquatic Sciences in Saint Pierre and Miquelon. Photo by Studio Briand Photographe | Archipel Développement.
The Sea Around Us principal investigator, Dr. Daniel Pauly, and master’s student, Anna Luna Rossi, made a splash in Saint Pierre and Miquelon by participating in the fifth edition of the International Congress on Aquatic Sciences, which took place from September 28th to October 2nd, 2025.
The congress was structured around four main themes—fishing and aquaculture, citizen science and education, aquatic biodiversity, and maritime transport —and hosted 48 presentations, all of them meant to foster exchanges between researchers, businesses, and citizens, with a particular focus on young people.