Ocean Outcomes’ Post

The most recent issue of ICSF International Collective in Support of Fishworkers's SAMUDRA Report features stories of coastal tenure -- people from Japan, to Senegal, to the Brazilian Amazon working together to determine how their small-scale fisheries are accessed and maintained. I'm thrilled to contribute the story of tenure in the U.S., of fishing rights that were once collective and community-based, then privatized and moved to industrial operations, and now, that we at Catch Together are working to bring back to the traditional stewards: Indigenous Peoples and local communities. https://lnkd.in/gjB9hArJ

The Europe regional workshop, last in the series of IYAFA workshops was held in Spain in Nov 2023. The sessions focused on governance of the SSF sector with an emphasis on promoting low-impact fisheries & nurturing attitudes instead of extractive ones. 📷https://rebrand.ly/k032ik8

PSF and First Nations Fisheries Council of British Columbia are working with salmon leaders across the province to develop a new strategy to ensure salmon recovery and resilience in the future.   Salmon experts completed a deep dive exploration of Washington State’s salmon recovery model, and developed a roadmap for how to start a similar coordinated strategy in British Columbia.   Watch the latest session of the Pacific Salmon Action Dialogues to learn about the major differences between Washington and B.C., the challenges ahead for advancing a provincial model, and the next steps: https://lnkd.in/gakQRD7C #PacificSalmon #PacificSalmonActionDialogues

The Southern Benguela marine ecosystem has sustained South Africa’s major fisheries for decades, yet it now faces significant challenges. 🌊🇿🇦 Join us for a crucial panel discussion on the status of this ecosystem. Experts from diverse backgrounds will dive into complex questions, including: 1️⃣ What do ecological indicators tell us about the status of this ecosystem? 2️⃣ What does the distribution and stock structure of small pelagic fish look like? 3️⃣ What are the observations from inshore fisheries – doom and gloom, or winners and losers? ⏰ Don’t miss this chance to engage with leading experts! Whether you’re attending #IMCC7 or not, drop any questions you have for our panellists in the comments below. 💬👇

A special thanks to FRDC - Fisheries Research and Development Corporation for the support to further develop my knowledge and experience in fisheries management.

Discussions at IATTC are underway and we are continuing to push for the adoption of electronic monitoring standards for Eastern Pacific Ocean fisheries! Our partners are clearly demonstrating their commitment to sourcing responsibly, including incorporating EM in their supply chains. 🌎 We call on the IATTC to consider these market voices and make good on their promise to prioritize electronic monitoring. #IATTC #ElectronicMonitoring #SustainableTuna

Essential reading for progressing the fishing industrys goals of decarbonising. Implementation will require Industry and Government to join together to deliver well planned outcomes.

The double entendre of the keys analogy is an excellent one. Yes, consumers should go where the light shines brightest (and no wrongdoing is found). But it's also true that so-called "activists" tend to flock to places where the least amount of work needs to be done—where the light is already shining, and all surfaces are clean. We saw this with Sea Legacy starting their campaign against drifting gill nets in California swordfish fisheries after this method had already been banned. When Valentine Thomas JD and I reached out (collegially) to inquire, "Hey guys, the battle has been won, why not focus on drifting gill nets decimating yellowfin tuna stocks in the Indian Ocean?" the initial response was, "That's not really winnable. We need to focus on low-hanging fruit." What? The fruit has already been picked? They then followed up by promoting Seaspiracy, which has irreparably damaged seafood markets and brought the industry to the brink. Was the intent to declare victory over something that 1. had already been resolved, 2. with none of your own effort, to 3. claim victory over battles you had no part in winning, and 4. trot this out to "impact investors" to finance your next year’s budget? Deeply problematic, to say the least. It's incontrovertible that the changing abundance and density of fish stocks is attributable to anthropogenic causes—but even NOAA's most sophisticated scientists, who have historically been at painful and public odds with the fishing industry, admit that these anthropogenic causes are due to climate change, not overfishing. We are called to do the hard work—to shine the light in dark spaces and reduce human impacts. Paradoxically, eating more Wild Alaska Pollock and other blue foods (which have 97% less carbon footprint than herd beef, as proven in third-party life cycle assessments) actually helps achieve this. We also have to face the Darwinian reality we’ve always lived in and prioritize protecting natural resources that can adapt as quickly as the world and climate are changing. The most recent stock assessments show Wild Alaska Pollock is underfished and increasing in abundance. That is a rare story worth elevating, one that could unify a broad-based coalition toward its protection. As Senator Dan Sullivan highlighted during his comments at the GAPP meeting, the first step is for the Marine Stewardship Council to remove the irresponsible certification of Russian seafood products, which pose a threat to democracy and the environment. There is much more work to be done, but we rightfully expect the loudest voices on environmental progress to be minimally invested in actually making that progress. #wehavethereceipts #sdg14 #commonsense #fisheries #wildakpollock #sustainableseafood #partnershipsforthegoals #sustainabledevelopment #eatmorefish

In the southeastern Atlantic Ocean, the range of the bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas) now includes the waters as far south to the Namibian-Angolan border 🌍🦈💙

A look back on the MedPAN's side event #FishForum2024, "Success stories of sustainable Small Scale Fisheries in Mediterranean MPAs". 🐟 The conclusions drawn out of the participants' discussions and presentations could be summarised in the following 6 points : 🔹 The need for long-term monitoring, encompassing both the ecological and socio-economic aspects of the fisheries, ideally with the active involvement of the SSF 🔹 The importance of peer-to-peer exchanges among fishermen 🔹 Encouraging community involvement 🔹 Investing time in building and maintaining trust with stakeholders 🔹 Implementing effective monitoring and enforcement measures 🔹 The use of financial incentives to support behavioural change. These points if applied could contribute to reaching the ambitious objective of protecting at least 30% of marine areas by 2030, which cannot be achieved without the invested participation of local fishers. 🐠 More info ➡ https://bit.ly/3TdR9fU