Rodolphe Gozlan, Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD)
A small invasive fish known as the topmouth gudgeon has already wreaked havoc on European species and its arrival to the US and South America is only a matter of time.
The combination of local fishing rights with adjacent marine reserves creates incentives to avoid overfishing and could improve nearshore, small-scale fisheries around the world.
A melting Arctic means new areas will be open to commercial fishing but scientists – and bordering countries – say they need time to study the ecological and economic risks.
Matt Burgess, University of California, Santa Barbara
Spreading fishing pressure evenly across whole marine ecosystems sounds like a great idea. But there’s a hitch – we can’t technologically do it, and even if we could, it would be expensive.
John Ford, The University of Melbourne and Robert Day, The University of Melbourne
Flake is great with steaming hot chips. But what fish species is it, and is it sustainable? In Australia, it’s mainly gummy shark, which is a sustainable choice. But beware poorly labelled imitations.
Australia’s network of marine parks - a decade in the making and announced in 2012 - haven’t been implemented yet, and the Abbott government has already placed the plans under review. Why the hurry?
In a changing climate, ocean populations sometimes rise and fall in unpredictable waves. Scientists, managers and fishers must make economically and ecologically sound decisions based on long-term outlooks.
A tiny handful of Pacific island nations control more than 50% of the world’s tuna fishery, and their efforts to monitor international fishing vessels are set to become a major source of jobs.
We know that fishing has significant impacts on our oceans and the animals that live in them. Effects can range from habitat modification caused by bottom trawls, stock declines from overfishing or subtler…
Trawling – dragging heavy gear over ocean bottoms in search of fish near the sea floor – is arguably one of the most destructive human practices. Removing fish from the sea for an ever-hungry, growing…
You may not have heard of them or given them much thought, but phytoplankton — the microscopic plants that grow throughout the world’s oceans — are the foundation of oceanic food webs. Although tiny, they…
A decade ago, we set out to unravel deep ocean crime scenes we weren’t even sure existed. The crime? Endangered Steller sea lions were rapidly disappearing in parts of Alaska. Their numbers dropped by…
Seagrass is one of the most important coastal habitats where young ocean-going fish such as Atlantic cod can grow and develop before setting out on the journey of life. But these critically important habitats…
This fall, President Obama signed a proclamation that created the biggest marine reserve in the world. By extending the protective boundaries around Wake Island, Jarvis Island and Johnston Atoll from 50…
Australia’s coastal towns, many built around fisheries and tourism, are particularly vulnerable to climate change. South east and south west Australia are marine hotspots — they are warming much faster…