September 4, 2008 – 9:54 am
The FAO (United Nations Food & Agriculture Organisation) announced yesterday agreement on international guidelines to limit the impact of deep sea fishing with the aim of protecting deep-sea species and habitats.
The agreement offers the first framework for “operating in high-seas areas outside of national jurisdictions, where many deep sea fisheries (DSF) are located” and - [...]
September 3, 2008 – 9:04 am
A New York Times article titled “Beyond carbon: scientists worry about nitrogen’s effects” sets out to remind us of the “nitrogen dilemma”, that is, its role and impact as both a constituent greenhouse gas and also as a core component in fertilizer.
Of significance is the cycle of run-off from farming into rivers - and subsequently [...]
August 30, 2008 – 9:43 am
The Oslo-based Fridtjof Nansen Institute recently organised the “The World Ocean in Globalization: Challenges for Marine Regions” conference.
This was the third such international conference organized by the Nansen Institute covering marine affairs and the Law of the Sea and looked at a variety of emergent issues facing ocean governance, including: invasive alien species, bioprospecting, pollution, [...]
August 29, 2008 – 8:58 am
A recent article from the National Geographic cites a report published in Conservation Biology which contrasts the differences in ‘output’ between industrial fisheries and small-scale fisheries (operating in boats 50 feet or shorter).
A range of criteria were investigated with small-scale fisheries emerging as the “… best hope at sustainable fisheries,” according to Daniel Pauly, director [...]
August 28, 2008 – 9:03 am
One of the key assumptions underpinning the original scenario was the level-of-dependency on fish protein and its impact on diet and food supply. This is now variously estimated as effecting more than one billion people worldwide.
An article by George Monbiot questions the use of trade agreements in securing the rights to fish in non-national waters, [...]
August 24, 2008 – 5:07 pm
In June this year, the European Commission closed the Mediterranean bluefin tuna fishery two weeks before the official season was due to end in response to reported overfishing. The World Wildlife Fund – which firmly believes this fishery is on the verge of commercial and biological collapse - has launched its own campaign and is [...]
August 23, 2008 – 8:42 am
Article describing Swedish research which modelled the effects of forecasted changes to the sea’s pH value as expected by 2100.
August 22, 2008 – 9:37 am
The Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) failed at its recent annual meeting in Panama to introduce conservation measures to stop the decline of tuna stocks. This article from the World Wildlife Fund offers further analysis.
August 20, 2008 – 11:46 am
Jeremy Jackson - professor at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego - discussing current threats to marine ecosystems from mass extinctions to overfishing, pollution and climate change.
Oceans on the Precipice: Video from Guy Yeomans on Vimeo.
Video attribution: Scripps Institution of Oceanography
August 19, 2008 – 12:28 pm
A slightly older article (February, 2008) offering a perspective on the current ‘wild’ stock levels of tuna.
August 18, 2008 – 11:34 am
In the scenario, we referred to current efforts to propagate offspring from ‘caught’ stock.
Details of this new process explain how it could potentially change both the viability and predictability of spawning for captive bluefin. Would this be a way to re-populate back into the remaining ‘wild’ stock?
August 16, 2008 – 12:33 pm
Alternative article referencing the same report from Scripps.
August 15, 2008 – 11:01 am
In the original scenario I spoke about the emergence of ‘Dead Water’ (links to a pdf document).
This Guardian article brings us up-to-date and describes current research as published in the latest edition of Science magazine.
August 14, 2008 – 9:28 am
Although the article from Underwater Times doesn’t provide any specific timeline for the event, Professor Jeremy Jackson’s description reiterates the impact of a confluence of “synergistic effects” that continue to threaten the overall ocean ecosystem.
Further, he identifies “overexploitation, pollution and climate change as the three main “drivers” that must be addressed”.
