illegal fishing | Southern Fried Science

Endangered turtles and fish venom: Thursday Afternoon Dredging, March 15, 2018

Posted on March 15, 2018 by David Shiffman

Cuttings (short and sweet):

Follow marine conservation biologist Julia Spaet on twitter!
Nearly half of freshwater turtles are at risk of extinction. By John Platt, for Revelator.
Fishing bots “going dark” raise suspicion of illegal fishing. By Scott Neuman, for NPR.
Ocean sensors can track progress on climate goals. By Joellen Russell, for Nature News.

Spoils (long reads and deep dives):

Changing venom. By Dana Sackett, for the Fisheries blog.
Krill can break down microplastics, but that won’t save the ocean. By Calla Wahlquist, for the Guardian.
Next Steps on the Arctic’s Newest International Agreement. By Scott Highleyman, for the Ocean Conservancy blog.
Biodiversity in the oceans exploded after the dinosaurs fell. By Charles Choi, for InsideScience.
Arctic birds carry signs of an “Atlantifying” ocean. By Cheryl Katz, for Hakai.

Please add your own cuttings and spoils in the comments!

If you appreciate my shark research and conservation outreach, please consider supporting me on Patreon! Any amount is appreciated, and supporters get exclusive rewards!

Intertidal spiders and starfish night vision: Thursday Afternoon Dredging, February 22nd, 2018

Posted on February 22, 2018 by David Shiffman

Cuttings (short and sweet):

Follow Jessica Meeuwig, the Director of the UWA Centre for Marine Futures, on twitter.
Check out #WowScienceFact, a science communication hashtag game that I started!
Ocean tides could have driven ancient fish to walk. By Alexandra Witze, for Nature News.

Spoils (long reads and deep dives):

Webs under water: the bizarre lives of intertidal spiders. By Bhanu Sridharan, for MongaBay
A pioneering plan to boost fish stocks shows little success. By Clare Leschin-Hoar, for NPR
To save the oceans now, museum maps the species of the past. By Jessica Leber, for OceansDeeply
Seabirds eat plastic because it smells like fish to them. By Simon Worral, for National Geographic.
Starfish can sea in the dark, and have other amazing abilities! By Colleen Suckling, for Scientific American
Fish are moving, but can fishermen adapt to warmer waters? By Erin Priddle, for the Environmental Defense Fund blog.
Shadowy criminals are prowling the seas, putting food supplies in danger. By Ted Kemp, for CNBC.
Queen conch are dying in the Bahamas despite marine parks. By Maria Salazar, for MongaBay
The cuttlefish, master of camouflage, unveils a new trick. By Veronique Greenwood, for the New York Times

Please add your own cuttings and spoils in the comments!

If you appreciate my shark research and conservation outreach, please consider supporting me on Patreon! Any amount is appreciated, and supporters get exclusive rewards!

Parasitic mussel babies and big whale brains: Thursday Afternoon Dredging, November 30th, 2017

Posted on November 30, 2017 by David Shiffman

Cuttings (short and sweet):

Watch this incredible footage from Blue Planet 2!
Follow Annmarie Fearing, a graduate student researching sawfish conservation, on twitter!
Lobster found with Pepsi logo fuels fears over ocean litter. By Ashifa Kassam, for the Guardian.

Media coverage of the Yates Supreme Court case isn’t treating illegal fishing seriously

Posted on November 6, 2014 by David Shiffman

This week, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments for Yates vs. the United States. Commercial fishermen John Yates was caught with dozens of illegally caught grouper, he destroyed much of the evidence of this crime, and he was charged under a law designed to prosecute people for destruction of evidence. He is now suing the government for overreach.

The question of whether a law most commonly known for being used to deal with destruction of financial records can also be used to deal with destruction of evidence of illegal fishing is an interesting one. The Obama administration claims that the law was designed to be a generic Federal destruction of evidence ban, and it has also been used, according to a USA Today article, to “go after the destruction of cars, cash, cocaine, child pornography- even murder weapons and bodies.” It seems to me that it is an appropriate role of government to write regulations to ensure that our shared natural resources are sustainably exploited, it is an appropriate role of government to enforce violations of those laws, and it is an appropriate role of government to punish people for destroying evidence of those violations. A much bigger problem, however, is with much of the media coverage of this case.

Nothing to plunder – the evolution of Somalia’s pirate nation

Posted on February 11, 2011 by Andrew Thaler

The droughts that shook the east African nations in the mid-1970’s and again in the 1980’s decimated the traditional nomadic clans of Somalia, leaving them without live stock to feed their families. Tens of thousands of the dispossessed, primarily of the Hawiye clan, were relocated to coastal areas. Fishing communities took root and began to flourish. With over 3000 km of coastline, rich with rock lobster and large pelagic fish, these communities grew, perhaps even thrived. Then, as is often the narrative of African nations, came civil war.

Pirate fishing: far less awesome then it sounds

Posted on January 25, 2011 by David Shiffman

Earlier this month, NOAA provided a list of “pirate fishing” countries to Congress. This report identifies Portugal, Italy, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and Panama as nations whose vessels engage in “illegal, unreported, unregulated” fishing.

Russell Smith, NOAA deputy assistant secretary for international fisheries, explains why this so-called pirate fishing is such a big deal:

“Illegal fishing must be stopped as it subjects our fishermen to unfair competition and undermines efforts to sustainably manage the valuable fish stocks around the world that so many communities depend on for food and jobs.”

The Pew Charitable trusts reports that an estimated 20% of all fish removed from the oceans are fished illegally. NOAA claims that this results in an annual loss of $23 billion to legal fisheries worldwide. Specifically, the six violator countries listed here are guilty of having:

“fishing vessels that did not comply with measures agreed to under various international fishery management organizations, such as closed fishing seasons, vessel registry lists, and a ban on the use of driftnets. Other violations included illegal gear modifications, fishing without authorization, and possession of undersized bluefin tuna.”