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Ocean
A new study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences proves that protecting an additional 5% of the world’s ocean area leads to an increase of 20% more fish for fishermen to catch and thus much more food for people to eat.
Why This Matters: Right now only 2.5% of the ocean is fully protected, but the goal is 30% protected by 2030.
Continue Reading 507 wordsA new report from the Environmental Justice Foundation exposes the horrific conditions that Ghanain fishermen face on Chinese-owned industrial trawlers. This capture of the country’s fishing industry flies in the face of Ghanian laws that forbid foreign ownership or control of ships flying its flag. It also makes illegal fishing much harder to trace and regulate.
Why This Matters: It’s impossible to have sustainable fisheries when as much as half of the global catch is illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU).
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Using underwater robots that can travel more than half a mile down, a research team from the University of California at Santa Barbara recently uncovered new evidence on the ocean floor of thousands of drums full of the notorious pesticide DDT, which has been banned in the U.S. for decades.
Why This Matters: Xia’s top-notch reporting reveals that there could be half a million barrels of DDT on the ocean floor — still contaminating marine life.
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An alliance of conservation groups has combined forces to advocate at the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), which manages the ocean around Antarctica, in favor of creating at its virtual meeting this year a trio of marine protected areas (MPAs) covering 1.5 million square miles, or 1% of the world’s ocean.
Why this Matters: The Southern Ocean is vital in regulating the world’s climate — its “conveyer belt” of currents keep Antarctica cold while keeping the rest of the world warm.
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Yesterday at a virtual press conference, House Natural Resources Committee Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) unveiled his Ocean-Based Climate Solutions Act along with co-lead, House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis Chair Kathy Castor. In Grijalva’s own words, the bill aims to provide a roadmap for ocean and coastal climate resilience, and responsibly uses them […]
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Last week the federal government approved protections for 500 square miles of deep-sea coral habitats in the Gulf of Mexico, NOLA.com reported. The rules, approved by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), prohibit fishing with bottom tending nets and other fishing tools that rip apart fragile corals.
Why This Matters: Deep-sea corals live at depths up to 10,000 feet and protect a diverse array of marine life including shrimp, crab, and other fish caught and sold for consumption around the world.
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