India’s new mega-dam will roil lives downstream with wild swings in water flow every day

The hydropower dam is part of a huge effort to boost India’s homegrown energy. But it will radically disrupt the lives and livelihoods of indigenous communities in the flood plains downstream.

Parag Jyoti Saikia, Ph.D. Candidate in Socio-Cultural Anthropology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • conversation
Sept. 4, 2024 ~10 min

Sharks are taking a bite out of anglers’ catch in the Gulf of Mexico, but culling isn’t likely to help

Whether they’re going to cook a fish, have it mounted or just take a photo and then release it, anglers want more than a severed head. But with shark numbers rebounding, they’ve got competition.

James Marcus Drymon, Associate Extension Professor in Marine Fisheries Ecology, Mississippi State University • conversation
Aug. 20, 2024 ~9 min


How fly fishing strengthens our connection with wildlife and fosters conservation efforts

Human interactions with fish can result in three kinds of interspecies encounters that strengthen people’s connections with wildlife and natural environments.

Robin Canniford, Professor of Marketing, University of Galway • conversation
Aug. 19, 2024 ~6 min

Most marine protection measures are not working – a new, more flexible approach is needed

Experts have interviewed fishers, tourism operators and recreational sea users in 50 marine protected areas to see how well any negative human impacts are being reduced.

Peter JS Jones, Emeritus Professor of Environmental Governance, UCL • conversation
June 27, 2024 ~8 min

We’ve measured the cost of unsustainable industrial fishing on coastal communities – and it’s vast

A new report estimates the impacts of big fishing businesses with a previous track record of unsustainability on the local economy, jobs and people’s welfare in five developing countries.

Miren Gutiérrez, Investigator, Data Analysis, ODI • conversation
June 7, 2024 ~8 min

Climate change may be fuelling a resurgence of piracy across Africa

As climate change ravages coastal livelihoods, piracy is on the rise, imperilling seafarers and trade.

Selina Robinson, Senior Lecturer in Forensic Investigation, University of Winchester • conversation
May 24, 2024 ~6 min

Green lights on fishing nets could slash bycatch of sea turtles, says research

Hi-tech green LED lights attached to fishing gear can act as a deterrent to turtles and help reduce bycatch by approximately 40%.

Robin Snape, Associate Researcher, Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter • conversation
March 19, 2024 ~6 min

Surviving fishing gear entanglement isn’t enough for endangered right whales – females still don’t breed afterward

Even when female North Atlantic right whales survive entanglement in fishing gear, it may affect their future ability to breed, increasing the pressure on this critically endangered species.

Rob Harcourt, Professor of Marine Ecology, Macquarie University • conversation
March 13, 2024 ~10 min


Sharks, turtles and other sea creatures face greater risk from industrial fishing than previously thought − we estimated added pressure from ‘dark’ fishing vessels

The toll on wildlife from illegal fishing, bycatch and entanglement in fishing gear is likely underestimated, because it doesn’t account for ‘dark’ fishing vessels, a new study finds.

Heather Welch, Researcher in Ecosystem Dynamics, University of California, Santa Cruz • conversation
March 6, 2024 ~7 min

Struggling seabirds thrown a lifeline by new commercial fishing ban in the North Sea – but it may not be enough

Many seabird colonies around UK coastlines struggle to breed because the sandeels they feed on have been overfished. The upcoming closure of sandeel fisheries will be good news for marine wildlife.

Ruth Dunn, Senior Research Associate in Marine Ecology, Lancaster University • conversation
Feb. 13, 2024 ~8 min

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