• Ocean

China’s Illegal Fishing Fleet In GhanaIs Is Rife With Abuses

• China
• fish
• fishing
• Ghana
• Illegal
• IUU fishing
• ocean
• unregulated
• unreported

A 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).

• Politics

China and the U.S. Trade Environmental Barbs

• #30x30
• biodiversity
• China
• climate change
• emissions
• greenhouse gasses
• IUU fishing
• plastic
• pollution
• United Nations

Yesterday the Chinese government released a detailed condemnation of the U.S. government’s environment and climate policies.  Labeled as a “Fact Sheet of Environmental Damage Caused by the US,” it contains a litany of U.S. environmental failures.

Why This Matters:  The U.S.’s shot at China came after the Chinese announced at the UN General Assembly that China plans to be climate neutral by 2060.

• Ocean

Illegal Fishing in Galapagos Threatens Ecosystem and Economy

• China
• Galapagos
• Galapagos Marine Reserve
• IUU fishing
• Oceana
• satellite
• transshipment

The LA Times’ Susanne Rust reported on a brewing controversy surrounding China’s notorious “distant water” fishing fleet — it’s 17,000 vessels strong and has conducted dubious fishing operations off the coasts of West Africa, Argentina, and Japan.

Why this Matters: The Galapagos Islands hold a bounty of flora and fauna; 20% of the species found in the Galapagos aren’t found anywhere else in the world.  Illegal fishing in the region is anything but new, but in late August 2020, the number of illegal fishing vessels exploded.

• Ocean

China Fishing Illegally in North Korean Waters According to New Investigation

• China
• environment
• Illegal fishing
• IUU fishing
• NBC News
• Security Council
• United Nations

Using satellite monitoring technology and intelligence capabilities, an investigation by NBC News and Ian Urbina an author and former NY Times journalist, has uncovered massive fishing by a “dark” fleet in North Korean waters with deadly results for North Korean fishermen.

Why This Matters:  China is a member of the UN Security Council that in 2017 banned fishing in North Korean waters (which China used to pay to access) as part of sanctions it imposed after North Korea’s nuclear missile tests.  If it’s true (and the UN has an anonymous report corroborating China’s violations with evidence to back it up) it would be a serious breach of the UN’s security rules

• People

Special World Ocean Day Interview with Ambassador Peter Thomson

• #30x30
• #BlueCOP
• #climatechange
• #ForNature
• #WorldOceanDay
• COP
• IUU fishing

We were honored to get a few minutes with Ambassador Thomson, the UN Special Envoy for Oceans, to talk about the importance of the day and what lies ahead for ocean conservation.  Here are the highlights. ODP:  Ambassador Thomson tells us a little about your background? PT: I come from Fiji, I am a fifth-generation […]

• Animals

Clamp Down on Cross-Border Trade Leads to Temporary Decline in Wildlife Trafficking

• #30x30
• #einvironment
• conservation
• illegal ivory
• illegal wildlife trafficking
• IUU fishing
• pangolins
• wildlife

In the silver linings category, the COVID-19 pandemic’s shock to economies around the globe is also proving to be a disruption to illegal wildlife trafficking by transnational criminal networks, according to a new report from Wildlife Justice Commission, a non-profit organization that investigates and tracks these criminal activities and networks. 

Why This Matters:  Temporary blockages in the black market supply chain are not surprising, and the bad guys will find a way around them — too much money is at stake and these folks are rule-breakers by training.