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.

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Putting the spotlight on Southern Mediterranean, Arabian Peninsula fisheries

Putting the spotlight on Southern Mediterranean, Arabian Peninsula fisheries

Putting the spotlight on Southern Mediterranean, Arabian Peninsula fisheries

Myriam Khalfallah during her PhD defence on March 26, 2020.

In the midst of the covid-19 pandemic, Myriam Khalfallah defended her PhD dissertation titled Data-poor Fisheries: Case studies from the Southern Mediterranean and the Arabian peninsula.

Despite having to present from her living room via a videoconferencing system to comply with the physical distancing measures imposed by the B.C. health authorities, Khalfallah obtained unanimous approval for her thesis.

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Seychelles, a baseline for a Blue Economy

Seychelles, a baseline for a Blue Economy

Seychelles, a baseline for a Blue Economy

Men fishing in Seychelles. Photo by Tiare Scott, Flickr.

Comprehensive fisheries data are needed in the Republic of Seychelles to back the country’s path towards a blue economy, where environmentally sustainable and equitable practices are implemented to make use of various ocean resources for economic growth.

New research by the Sea Around Us – Indian Ocean, in collaboration with Hanna Jabour Christ of the Marine Futures Lab at the University of Western Australia, revealed that there are discrepancies between the actual quantities and species of fish caught in the Seychelles Exclusive Economic Zone and what is being reported by regulatory agencies and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

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DP bio cover

Daniel Pauly’s biography hits the bookstores

DP bio cover

Un Océan de Combats is the title of the book that recounts the life of the Sea Around Us Principal Investigator, Dr. Daniel Pauly.

The text, brilliantly written by oceanographer David Grémillet over the course of two years and after doing dozens of interviews over four continents, presents the extraordinary life story of a child born just after the Second World War to a working-class Frenchwoman and an African American GI– Daniel Pauly’s trajectory defies every expectation.

Un Océan de Combats brings to the forefront a scientist’s life-long struggle over the course of his extraordinary career to determine the magnitude and significance of overfishing.

The first accessible account of overfishing as a global issue, both for society and for the planet, this book draws the inevitable connection between the environmental crisis and the political and social inequality between the global North and the global South.

DP's bio

“An iconoclastic fisheries scientist who is so decidedly global in his life and outlook that he is nearly a man without a country.” THE NEW YORK TIMES

“Never afraid to ruffle feathers, Pauly is outspoken about ocean conservation and willing to point fingers at the huge multinational companies that control much of the world’s fishing industry.” NATURE

“Pauly’s insights into global fisheries provide an understanding of the root causes of our unsustainable ocean fishery and are an essential guide to sustain this vital resource.” DAVID SUZUKI