One of the oldest industries, fishing, is entering the world of advanced analytics and data-driven planning. With oceans under stress and key fish stocks dwindling, can precision fishing help?
Technology and regulation have solved some issues with bycatch. To reduce damage to marine life further, we can harness the skills of our best fishers.
An underwater forest formed by the purple gorgonian (Paramuricea clavata) off Marseille at a depth of 60 metres.
Romain Bricoult / CC BY-NC-ND
Every gun and bullet sold in the U.S. generates excise taxes to support conservation. But Americans are buying guns now for different reasons than in the past – and increasingly, not for hunting.
The old village of Aceredo, submerged 30 years ago when a hydropower dam flooded the valley, emerged during a drought in northwestern Spain, in February 2022.
(AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Water is central to adapting to climate change, but very few of the strategies put in place to respond to water hazards or ensure its availability have been evaluated.
To a group of hungry killer whales, a longline fishing boat looks like an all-you-can-eat buffet.
South Africa has an impressive record of marine biological research in protected areas, but the country needs to pay greater attention to the human aspects.
Doug Lang
Judy Mann-Lang, Oceanographic Research Institute (South African Association for Marine Biological Research); Bruce Quintin Mann, Oceanographic Research Institute (South African Association for Marine Biological Research), and George Branch, University of Cape Town
The social, ecological and governance objectives of marine protected areas need to be understood to enhance benefits to both people and the environment.
Nearly all species of sharks and rays are captured in fishing operations. But research shows that fishing quotas and closing some areas to fishing can help rebuild threatened populations.
Increasing numbers of fish farms are receiving sustainability certifications.
Wikimedia Commons
Ecolabelled seafood fetches higher prices in supermarkets, giving retailers and producers the incentive to up their sustainability game.
A man removes water from a fishing boat in Idenau, Cameroon. Illegal activity by foreign fishing companies has depleted fishing stocks.
Ann Johansson/Corbis via Getty Images)
The giant sea bass fishery collapsed long ago in the US, but that didn’t mean the species was endangered. New research shows these iconic fish have been thriving south of the border.
The WTO is set to wrap up negotiations on harmful fisheries subsidies This could help rebuild the oceans’ fish stocks, and support the communities that rely on them.