Every November, World Fisheries Day is held to reflect on the importance of sustainable stocks of fisheries and a healthy ocean. To mark this occasion the World Ocean Initiative explores the precarious state of Arctic fisheries, reflects on fisheries-related insights from this year’s World Ocean Summit and shines a light on the underrepresentation of women in blue foods.
Many of the world’s fisheries are in crisis. Only two thirds of fish stocks are within biologically sustainable levels, down from 90% in 1974. Yet the majority of global fishing subsidies go to industrial scale fisheries, including those whose practices destroy fish stocks. Ending harmful subsidies must come with eradicating illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. IUU fishing represents up to 26m tonnes of fish caught annually, at least 20% of the global catch.
Learn more about sustainable management of fisheries at the World Ocean Initiative.
Editor’s picks:
| Evolving ecosystems: The Arctic fisheries shifting northward The period of available sea ice in the Arctic’s Bering Sea has already decreased from nine months to only three annually. Find out more about the changing nature of Arctic fisheries in our guest blog from Anita Parlow. Read more |
| Women in blue foods: Overlooked and undervalued Women account for more than half of annual small-scale catches across the Pacific. So why are women’s contributions to blue foods often undervalued? Read more in our guest blog from Rebecca Short, Blue Food Fellow at the Stockholm Resilience Centre. Read more |
| Saving our seafood Fisheries and blue foods were among the main topics discussed at this year’s World Ocean Summit. How can we shape and support sustainable fisheries and transparent supply chains? Learn from experts across the marine and food industry landscape. Read more |
Upcoming events:
| Plastics and circularity closing the plastics loop Date: December 9thTime: 3 pm CET Visit the website Sponsored by: Plastics Europe Register free |
| World Ocean Summit Asia-Pacific: Investing in a blue economy; December 6th-10th 2021, virtual event |
| Hear from 100+ global leaders and industry experts as they discuss key measures to restore ocean health in industry-focused tracks and a dedicated track on fishing. Speakers on the fishing track will discuss how to improve fisheries management and achieve sustainability across supply chains. View the agenda and find out more here. |