Tag: Sea Around Us

Treating fish as a public health asset can strengthen food security in lower income countries

Treating fish as a public health asset can strengthen food security in lower-income countries

Treating fish as a public health asset can strengthen food security in lower income countries

Fishing in Ada Foah, Ghana. Photo by jrwebbe, Flickr.

The food and nutrient security of billions of people worldwide depend on fish being treated as a domestic public health asset instead of a commodity.

A new paper by researchers with the Sea Around Us – Indian Ocean initiative at the University of Western Australia and the Sea Around Us global initiative at the University of British Columbia reviews evidence to back the urgent need to develop health- and nutrition-focused fisheries policies that drift away from current export-oriented, profit-maximizing policies.

Continue reading →

Popular seafood species in sharp decline around the world

Popular seafood species in sharp decline around the world

Popular seafood species in sharp decline around the world

Octopus at a fish market in Indonesia. Photo by Deng Palomares.

Fish market favourites such as orange roughy, common octopus and pink conch are among the species of fish and invertebrates in rapid decline around the world, according to new research.

In the first study of its kind, researchers from the Sea Around Us initiative at UBC, the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel and the University of Western Australia assessed the biomass —the weight of a given population in the water— of more than 1,300 fish and invertebrate populations. They discovered global declines, some severe, of many popularly consumed species.

Continue reading →

COVID-19 and Brexit can help with the recovery of UK fish stocks

COVID-19 and Brexit can help with the recovery of UK fish stocks

Fishing boats in Brixham harbour, UK. Photo by Dave_S, Flickr.

The United Kingdom has a unique opportunity to start rebuilding its fish stocks by taking advantage of the slowdown in commercial fishing caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing Brexit negotiations that should lead to new policy and legislation.

A new paper by researchers with the University of Southampton, the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research and the Sea Around Us initiative at the University of British Columbia presents a science-based pathway for decision-makers to develop a holistic approach in fisheries management by harnessing the present moment in which threatened stocks are seeing fishing pressure reduced to levels not seen since World War II.

Continue reading →

Declining trend in fisheries catches threatens food security in African coastal communities

Declining trend in fisheries catches threatens food security in African coastal communities

Declining trend in fisheries catches threatens food security in African coastal communities

Ghanaian fisherman. Photo from Pikist.

Fish catches in Africa have reached a peak and, in many cases, have moved into a declining trend that threatens the food security and economic development of coastal areas.

A new study by researchers at the University of Western Australia, the University of British Columbia and Ecotrust Canada analyzed fishery yields in the seven Large Marine Ecosystems or LMEs that surround the African continent and found that most fisheries in the region rely on overfished resources.

Continue reading →

World Oceans Day 2020 - Ocean-related content you can access at home

World Oceans Day 2020 – Ocean-related content you can enjoy at home

World Oceans Day 2020 - Ocean-related content you can access at home World Oceans Day is being celebrated differently in 2020.

As humanity is still dealing with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, most ocean-lovers will have to resist the desire to spend June 8 by the beach. But not being able to get physically to the ocean doesn’t mean that we can’t learn more about it. This is why the Sea Around Us team prepared a list of ocean-related resources that we can all enjoy from the comfort of our homes.  

Continue reading →