In late March and early April this year, researchers from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands teamed up with fishers, conservationists and scientists in Guinea-Bissau to catch, study, sample and release more than 50 sharks and rays off the coast of the West African country. The team, which included experts from the Guinea-Bissau-based Institute […]
Tag: overfishing
Pet food for cats and dogs being sold containing endangered sharks
Unwitting owners are feeding endangered sharks to their cats and dogs, according to a new study. Scientists discovered that numerous brands contained endangered species but simply specified nonspecific components like “ocean fish,” implying that most customers are unaware. “We believe the majority of pet owners are likely to be nature enthusiasts, and we believe most […]
European Citizens Demand the End of the Shark Fin Trade
Citizens from across Europe have come together to demand the end of the shark fin trade in the European Union once and for all. Every year 63 to 273 million sharks are killed for their fins, creating a huge danger of extinction among many species. Not only is this an incredibly cruel practice, but it […]
Penguins in crisis as sardine populations plummet
African penguin populations are plummeting along with sardine stocks. As are Cape gannets and Cape cormorants, who also feed almost exclusively on the small pelagic fish. The penguins at Boulders Beach in Simonstown are safe as a tourist attraction, for now. The population has been relatively stable over the last five years but researchers believe […]
Chinese Fishing Fleets are Depleting the World’s Oceans
China has the world’s largest fishing fleet, and it’s dominating the fishing industry and harming oceans, the Gatestone Institute reported. One study found that China’s fleet has almost 17,000 vessels, 5-8 times larger than estimates and what the government has reported. The UN reports that China consumes 36% of total global fish production and brings […]
European tuna boats dump fishing debris in Seychelles waters ‘with impunity’
In 2019, when Jeremy Raguain turned up for a cleanup campaign on Aldabra Atoll, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, he bagged a marine monstrosity like no other: a beached fish aggregating device, or FAD. It was a massive tangle of buoys, netting and fishing ropes weighing hundreds of kilograms. The fishing aid, like most FADs, […]
Red flag: Predatory European ships help push Indian Ocean tuna to the brink
Until Jan 9, 2014, the Playa de Anzoras, a 2,200-ton tuna fishing vessel named for a beach in Spain, built in Spain and owned by Spaniards, sailed under the Spanish flag. On Jan. 10, it dropped the Spanish flag in favor of that of Seychelles, a small archipelagic nation in the Indian Ocean. Neither Spain […]
POLL: Seaspiracy Controversial Documentary: Should marine life be treated as seafood or as wildlife?
If you’re wondering how detrimental eating fish is, sea for yourself: In the new Netflix documentary Seaspiracy, director Ali Tabrizi lays bare how commercial fishing devastates marine animals—and what will happen if humans continue to consume fish. Created by the same team that made the illusion-shattering feature Cowspiracy, Seaspiracy goes below the surface to reveal […]