Emma Desrochers

Contributing editor reporting from Hawaii, U.S.A.

Emma Desrochers is a freelance journalist based in Waialua, Hawaii, who writes about fisheries and sustainability. She graduated from Yale University in June 2021 with an undergraduate degree in environmental studies and mechanical engineering. She has contributed to the environmental conservation field through internships located in Ecuador, Thailand, and Hawaii.


Author Archive

Published on
June 8, 2023

Por la Pesca, a joint project established in 2022 between the Walton Family Foundation and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is on a mission to decrease illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing in Ecuador and Peru.

Por la Pesca has set a goal of decreasing IUU fishing in the two South American nations – an issue that has risen in prevalence and profile in South America – by up to 30 percent over the

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Published on
May 26, 2023

Recent research from NOAA found 67 percent of 64 federally managed species in the California Current large marine ecosystem, extending from the U.S.-Canadian border to the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula in Mexico, to be at least moderately vulnerable to climate change, with 23 percent considered highly or very highly vulnerable.

Scientists from NOAA and the U.S. Geological Survey, in partnership with the University of California,

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Published on
May 19, 2023

The Sustainable Fisheries Partnership’s 2022 reduction fisheries assessment has raised concerns over the continued stagnation of movement on sustainability in the sector since 2018.

Published on 19 April, the report is the 13th edition of SFP’s assessment of the world’s reduction fisheries, which are fisheries that focus on stocks used mainly for fishmeal and fish oil. SFP released the 2022 report in two parts to better

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Published on
May 12, 2023

The Fishery Transparency Initiative (FiTI), a global partnership aiming to increase transparency and participation in marine sustainable management among fisheries, released an assessment on 28 February labeling the U.S. as a global leader in fisheries transparency.

FiTI published the report, “Taking Stock: Online Transparency of Fisheries Management Information for the United States of America,” as part of its Taking Stock

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Published on
May 9, 2023

U.S. fishermen who work in New England, Alaska, the South Atlantic, and the Gulf of Mexico traveled to Washington D.C. from 6 to 9 February, 2023, to call for reform of current catch-share programs through the Magnuson-Stevens Act – a revision of which is currently being negotiated by the U.S. Congress.

Catch shares, or limited-access fisheries, are management strategies that assign a proportion of a total allowable catch or quota to a

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Published on
April 26, 2023

Global squid fisheries increased their collective fishing effort by 68 percent over the past three years, and 86 percent of that effort has taken place in unregulated areas of the high seas, according to new research.

The rapid increase has many global fisheries experts concerned about overexploitation of squid stocks, the  potential for the expansion of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, and the fate of small-scale fishers

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Published on
April 19, 2023

The new Coalition for Fisheries Transparency has published a framework to create a common language advocates can use to enhance sustainability and transparency efforts across global seafood supply chains. 

The framework, called the Global Charter for Fisheries Transparency, includes ten principles for the coalition to use when promoting seafood traceability and transparency. Members and leaders of the coalition include several

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Published on
April 18, 2023

The Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) partnered with Longline Environment to develop a new map-based tool to identify shrimp farming locations close to mangroves to identify “hot spots” for industry attention so shrimp farming can be a driver for mangrove restoration and protection.

“Mangroves should not be lost to aquaculture or indeed any other purpose as they are a habitat under threat and provide a wide range of

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Published on
April 17, 2023

Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative (GSSI) Executive Director Herman Wisse officially departed the organization on 31 March, 2023, after a decade with the seafood certification group.

Wisse, who said he is leaving the role to spend more time with his family, was instrumental to the formation of GSSI. In 2012 he was asked by a group of industry leaders to develop a project proposal to get GSSI under way, including Ahold Delhaize, Metro Group,

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Published on
April 11, 2023

The newest strategic plan from the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) is keeping Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification as a central tenant as the organization advocates for more sustainable wild-caught seafood. 

The ISSF Strategic Plan for 2023-2027, "Continuously Improving Global Tuna Fishery Sustainability," was released 28 February, 2023. The plan highlights ISSF research, advocacy, and its approach to

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