Banking on Cod
Demand for wild (non-farmed) seafood is increasingly reliant upon dwindling fish stocks. Much of the fishing industry is now struggling to make ends meet, yet despite this, studies show that changes in management could increase fisheries' profitability whilst also protecting fish stocks. Find out how we can once again Bank on Cod, only this time sustainably!
Bycatch Factsheet
Dolphins, marine turtles, seals, seabirds, sharks, juvenile fish, fish with little commercial value, corals … billions of unwanted animals are caught every year by fishing boats then discarded dead or dying back into the ocean.
Coral Triangle Bycatch Brochure
Every year in the Coral Triangle, millions of kilograms of non-target fish species are caught in fishing nets and are thrown back into the sea or otherwise wasted. Bycatch—the incidental harvest of non-targeted and/or unmanaged marine species—often consists of endangered species such as sharks, juvenile tunas and marine turtles.
Defining and estimating global marine fisheries bycatch
Unselective fishing catches non-target organisms as ‘bycatch’—an issue of critical ocean conservation and resource management concern. However, the situation is confused because perceptions of target and non target catch vary widely, impeding efforts to estimate bycatch globally.
Safe Conduct? Twelve years fishing under the UN Code
The FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fishing (CCRF, ‘the Code’) was produced in 1995. During the period of its ten year anniversary, WWF and the University of British Columbia (UBC) Fisheries Centre initiated this project to assess its implementation. Applying a consistent assessment protocol to data for 2003-2005, UBC analysed 53 countries, representing over 95% of the world’s wild fisheries catch. This work offers a snapshot of where improvements might be necessary and against which new initiatives can be judged.
Squaring the diamond mesh
A new WWF publication shows how square-mesh trawl nets will benefit fish and fishermen in the Mediterranean. The report, ‘Squaring the diamond mesh – how square-mesh trawl nets will benefit fish and fishermen in the Mediterranean’, is based on new ecosystem-based management analyses that use computer models to assess the effects of square-mesh nets on marine ecosystems and fishing fleets.
Illegal fishing in Arctic waters
Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing is a global concern, costing nations upwards of €10 billion (US$15.5 billion) annually. Few places are of such great concern as the Arctic, home to some of the most outstanding marine ecosystems and most productive fisheries in the world.
Behind the facade: A decade of inaction on non-target species in southern bluefin tuna fisheries
This report reviews the experience of the Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna in the consideration and management of non-target species.
Turning the Tide: Exploitation, Trade and Management of Marine Turtles in the Lesser Antilles, Central America, Colombia and Venezuela
Over-exploitation of marine turtles in legal fisheries and through illegal harvest and trade poses a major threat to their survival across the Wider Caribbean Region, according to a new report by TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network.
Towards an ecosystem approach to longline fisheries in the Benguela: An assessment of impacts on seabirds, sea turtles and sharks
Over the past decade there has been global concern regarding the bycatch of seabirds, sea turtles and sharks in fishing operations. The incidental mortality of these species due to longline fisheries has been widely held responsible for the declining populations and threatened conservation status of several species.