Environment & Sustainability

On Tuesday, 17 April, Fisheries Minister Dominic LeBlanc told a group of youth delegates to an conference in Ottawa that he wants G7 nations to use their military and other surveillance assets to track illegal fishing. Furthermore, he wants offending countries “named and shamed” for their illegal overfishing.

LeBlanc issued the statement after seeing satellite images provided by the Canadian Forces as part of Operation Driftnet, which… Read More

Despite its willingness to review the designations made by its predecessor, the Trump Administration is at least defending former President Obama’s ability to create national monuments. That’s according to a filing in federal court earlier this week.

Jeffrey H. Wood, acting assistant attorney general for the environment and natural resources division, entered a motion on 16 April to dismiss a lawsuit filed last year by the Massachuset… Read More

Three more countries from across the Commonwealth of Nations have signed up to an international pledge to eliminate avoidable single-use plastic and to help clean up the world’s oceans, the government of the United Kingdom has confirmed.

U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May has confirmed that New Zealand, Sri Lanka, and Ghana have joined the U.K. and Vanuatu-led Commonwealth Clean Oceans Alliance (CCOA), an agreement between member states to joi… Read More

The National Fisheries Institute’s Red Crab Council, the China Aquatic Products Processing and Marketing Alliance (CAPPMA), and Ocean Outcomes (O2) have all joined forces to bring a red swimming crab fisheries improvement project (FIP) in China to fruition, NFI announced on 18 April.   

All three participating organizations signed a memorandum of understanding on Wednesday, 18 April, outlining the intended launch and implementatio… Read More

North American certifier Fair Trade USA's seafood program has experienced a great deal of growth since its inception in 2014, with even more expansion on the way for 2018, the organization announced on 16 April. 

To date, Fair Trade has certified more than 6,000 fishermen and seafood supply chain workers under its Capture Fisheries Standard, and has been selected as a SeaWeb Seafood Champion Awards finalist for its visionary approach to… Read More

Officials in India are looking seriously into pursuing sustainability certification from Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) for up to 10 of the countries fisheries.

At a seminar on 5 April organized by India’s Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) attended by officials from the MSC and the World Wildlife Fund, as well as marine scientists, seafood exporters, fishermen, and retailers met to discuss the formation of fishery improv… Read More

In a multinational drive to protect the North Atlantic right whale, fisheries along the east coasts of the Canada and the United States are being mandated, legislated, or volunteering to reduce rope use as much as possible.

The Canadian government has instituted steps that requires snow crab fishermen use less rope, use more easily breakable rope and report any lost gear as soon as possible. These conditions apply to all fishing in the Gulf of St… Read More

Two companies based in the Northeast U.S. have jointly entered the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification process for the Atlantic loligo (longfin) squid fishery. 

Lund’s Fisheries, in Cape May, New Jersey, U.S.A., and the Town Dock in Point Judith, Rhode Island, U.S.A., have begun the multi-step certification process needed for the East Coast loligo. If successful, they would be the first squid fishery to receive MSC certifica… Read More

Getting ahead of the economic impacts that tend to accompany fisheries' closures is the basis of a new predictive model put together by a team of scientists from NOAA’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center (NFSC) and the University of Washington.

When fisheries shut down, entire communities suffer, the scientific team recognized, and oftentimes, funds doled out to help fishermen weathering rough patches arrive months after they are needed. Th… Read More

In the wake of 17 right whale deaths in 2017 – one of the worst years in terms of right whale mortalities in decades –the lobster and crab fishing industries are under pressure to work out solutions that will make their gear safer. 

Twelve of the 17 right whale deaths occurred in Canada, and several of those were attributed directly to snow crab fishing gear. Those entanglements have led to calls for changes to the gear fishermen… Read More