<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/" xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/" >

	<channel>
		<title>Conservation news</title>
		<atom:link href="https://news.mongabay.com/feed/?topic=fisheries&#038;type=post" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
		<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/fisheries/</link>
		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Sat, 07 Nov 2026 11:26:43 +0000</lastBuildDate>
		<language>en-US</language>
		<sy:updatePeriod>hourly</sy:updatePeriod>
		<sy:updateFrequency>1</sy:updateFrequency>
		<generator>https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1.4</generator>

<image>
	<url>https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/05/16160320/cropped-mongabay_icon-32x32.png</url>
	<title>News on Fisheries</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/fisheries/</link>
	<width>32</width>
	<height>32</height>
</image> 
				<item>
					<title>Mediterranean fisheries commission adopts species management plans but punts on deep-sea protections</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/mediterranean-fisheries-commission-adopts-species-management-plans-but-punts-on-deep-sea-protections/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/mediterranean-fisheries-commission-adopts-species-management-plans-but-punts-on-deep-sea-protections/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Nov 2026 14:43:47 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Francesco De Augustinis]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Autumn Spanne]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/11/06074209/Fishmonger-Malaga-53236699475_c008cee0f3_k-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=335146</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Europe, Greece, Italy, Mediterranean Sea, Morocco, and Spain]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Environment, Environmental Law, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Governance, Law, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Regulations, Saltwater Fish, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The international organization responsible for regulating fisheries in the Mediterranean and Black seas concluded its annual meeting with the adoption of new management plans for some iconic species. However, it declined to pass expected fishing restrictions to protect certain ecologically important habitats. Half of all assessed species in the region are overexploited. The 49th session [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The international organization responsible for regulating fisheries in the Mediterranean and Black seas concluded its annual meeting with the adoption of new management plans for some iconic species. However, it declined to pass expected fishing restrictions to protect certain ecologically important habitats. Half of all assessed species in the region are overexploited. The 49th session of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM), a body of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), took place in Rome Oct. 26-30, bringing together 23 member countries and the European Union. The meeting achieved some milestones, including establishing long-term harvest strategies for European hake (Merluccius merluccius) and deep-water rose shrimp (Parapenaeus longirostris) in the Strait of Sicily, and for giant red shrimp (Aristaeomorpha foliacea) in the Strait of Sicily, the Ionian Sea between Greece and southern Italy, and the Levantine Sea in the easternmost Mediterranean. However, the commission postponed making a decision on the establishment of two Fisheries Restricted Areas: One covering a cold-water coral reef between Spain and Morocco, and another expanding protection for deep-sea areas. Both proposals had broad agreement just a few months earlier, observers said. “It is disappointing that, despite multiple proposals to restrict fishing to protect sensitive habitats, countries could not reach agreement and instead delayed adoption,” Esther Wozniak, senior policy officer for sustainable fisheries at the U.S.-based NGO The Pew Charitable Trusts, who took part in the meeting as an observer, said in a press release. “There was, however, important progress on improving fisheries management that&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/mediterranean-fisheries-commission-adopts-species-management-plans-but-punts-on-deep-sea-protections/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/mediterranean-fisheries-commission-adopts-species-management-plans-but-punts-on-deep-sea-protections/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-335146</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Singapore sand imports threaten an already sinking Cambodian fishing community, again</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/singapore-sand-imports-threaten-an-already-sinking-cambodian-fishing-community-again/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/singapore-sand-imports-threaten-an-already-sinking-cambodian-fishing-community-again/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Nov 2026 00:15:50 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Andy Ball]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/11/05234928/DSC09394-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=335113</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, Singapore, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Coastal Ecosystems, Ecosystems, Environment, extractives, Fish, Fisheries, Freshwater, Freshwater Fish, Governance, Mining, Natural Resources, Rivers, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Editor’s note: *Cambodian fishers who spoke to Mongabay asked that pseudonyms be used, fearing reprisals. BANGKOK, Thailand — Sand mining vessels were once a familiar sight to residents of Koh Sralao, a fishing village in Cambodia’s Koh Kong province. But it had been a decade since anyone had seen them. That changed in June. “I [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Editor’s note: *Cambodian fishers who spoke to Mongabay asked that pseudonyms be used, fearing reprisals. BANGKOK, Thailand — Sand mining vessels were once a familiar sight to residents of Koh Sralao, a fishing village in Cambodia’s Koh Kong province. But it had been a decade since anyone had seen them. That changed in June. “I started seeing lots of sand-mining barges lined up, probably around 10, when I go out to fish,” said Rithy,* who spotted them in a nearby waterway. The barges are part of a mining operation 10 kilometers (6 miles) upstream of Koh Sralao on the Trapeang Rung River, which provincial authorities say they’ve approved to extract sand for export to Singapore. Official data show that since June, sand exports have been underway to the city-state, where a Mongabay investigation found it is likely being used in a government-backed reclamation project. It comes a decade after the Cambodian government banned the trade in 2017, following dredging by politically connected companies that stripped hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of sand from the surrounding estuaries, damaging ecosystems and livelihoods in the process. Now, communities, conservationists and activists are warning it could happen again. A sand mining operation runs along the Trapeang Rung River in Koh Kong Knong village, Koh Kong province, Cambodia, in September 2026. For Rithy, the operation has already blocked his access to a stretch of river where he used to fish. “It’s impossible to go now because they will destroy my nets,” he said. “Since&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/singapore-sand-imports-threaten-an-already-sinking-cambodian-fishing-community-again/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/singapore-sand-imports-threaten-an-already-sinking-cambodian-fishing-community-again/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-335113</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>High expectations but no agreement on Antarctic marine protection, krill fishing</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/high-expectations-but-no-agreement-on-antarctic-marine-protection-krill-fishing/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/high-expectations-but-no-agreement-on-antarctic-marine-protection-krill-fishing/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Nov 2026 18:02:40 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Francesco De Augustinis]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/11/03115956/Penguin_in_Antarctica_jumping_out_of_the_water-edit-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=334852</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Antarctica]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Ecosystems, Environment, Environmental Law, Environmental Policy, Fisheries, Fishing, Governance, Law, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Marine Protected Areas, Oceans, Politics, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The multilateral body charged with regulating fishing and protecting ecosystems in the Southern Ocean reached no agreements on establishing new marine protected areas or adopting new krill-fishing management measures at its recent annual meeting. The 45th meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) took place Oct. 19-30 in Hobart, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The multilateral body charged with regulating fishing and protecting ecosystems in the Southern Ocean reached no agreements on establishing new marine protected areas or adopting new krill-fishing management measures at its recent annual meeting. The 45th meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) took place Oct. 19-30 in Hobart, Australia, bringing together the body&#8217;s 27 members: 26 countries and the EU. Months of press conferences, boycott campaigns, lobbying activities and bilateral meetings preceded the event. Attention focused particularly on the potential adoption of a new fisheries management system for Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) and the establishment of a marine protected area in a large swathe of sea, known as Domain 1, between the Antarctic Peninsula and the South Orkney Islands. Domain 1 is where krill fishing is concentrated and also contains important feeding grounds for wildlife populations that rely primarily on the small shrimp-like crustaceans for food. “CCAMLR Members did not reach consensus on either,” Javier Arata, spokesperson for the industry Association of Responsible Krill harvesting companies (ARK), told Mongabay by email, minutes after the meeting closed. “CCAMLR adopted no new measures for the krill fishery this year,” Arata said, adding that members “were closer this year than many expected.” He said his group will keep working with all CCAMLR members, scientists and other interested parties to get both measures adopted in 2027. In response to the lack of progress, several conservation organizations, including the U.S.-based Antarctic Wildlife Alliance, the Our Antarctica campaign and the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/high-expectations-but-no-agreement-on-antarctic-marine-protection-krill-fishing/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/high-expectations-but-no-agreement-on-antarctic-marine-protection-krill-fishing/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-334852</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Governments must include small-scale fishers in their plans to protect the oceans: Report</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/governments-must-include-small-scale-fishers-in-their-plans-to-protect-the-oceans-report/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/governments-must-include-small-scale-fishers-in-their-plans-to-protect-the-oceans-report/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Nov 2026 16:03:14 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mark Hillsdon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Autumn Spanne]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/11/03151848/WhatsApp-Image-2026-10-22-at-12.16.33-4-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=334870</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Ecosystems, Environment, Environmental Law, Fisheries, Fishing, Governance, Law, Marine, Marine Conservation, Oceans, and Research]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A new report finds that countries around the world have committed to supporting sustainable fishing as a way to counter marine biodiversity loss, but urges them to strengthen accountability measures and do more to support small-scale fishers. The report, jointly published by the U.K.-based nonprofit the Marine Stewardship Council and the U.S.-based global research organization [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A new report finds that countries around the world have committed to supporting sustainable fishing as a way to counter marine biodiversity loss, but urges them to strengthen accountability measures and do more to support small-scale fishers. The report, jointly published by the U.K.-based nonprofit the Marine Stewardship Council and the U.S.-based global research organization World Resources Institute (WRI), was released at the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity summit (COP 17) held Oct. 19-30 in Yerevan, Armenia, and analyzes government pledges made under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). Launched at COP 15 in 2022, the GBF was heralded as a major breakthrough, establishing 23 targets aimed at reversing biodiversity loss by 2030. Now, at the framework’s halfway point, the new report takes stock of progress toward meeting those targets in relation to ocean biodiversity. It analyzed 812 fisheries-related commitments across the 74 National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) from coastal and island state countries and the European Union that had met the deadline to submit their plans. NBSAPs are pathways countries are developing in pursuit of the GBF targets. The most cited commitments focused on fisheries management, stronger governance, and science and data collection. The analysis found that while all national plans included at least one fisheries-related pledge, and 60% contained a measurable metric or deadline, just 27% directly referenced an existing policy, and only 13% included both. So, while fisheries and aquaculture are broadly recognized across NBSAPs, the report says, most biodiversity pledges are only “weakly anchored”&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/governments-must-include-small-scale-fishers-in-their-plans-to-protect-the-oceans-report/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/governments-must-include-small-scale-fishers-in-their-plans-to-protect-the-oceans-report/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-334870</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>New index tracks countries’ vulnerability to conflict between large and small-scale fishers</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/new-index-tracks-countries-vulnerability-to-conflict-between-large-and-small-scale-fishers/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/new-index-tracks-countries-vulnerability-to-conflict-between-large-and-small-scale-fishers/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Nov 2026 17:19:05 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Edward Carver]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Autumn Spanne]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/11/02153353/3-coast-of-Gambia-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=334678</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Business, Conflict, Conservation, Environment, Fisheries, Fishing, Food, Food Industry, food security, Governance, Industrial Agriculture, Industry, Marine, Marine Conservation, Natural Resources, Oceans, and Resource Conflict]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Competition between small-scale fishers and industrial vessels can threaten food security and livelihoods in coastal communities, especially in the Global South. A new study looks at which countries are most vulnerable to this competition and other forms of conflict between the two sectors, such as disputes over fishing grounds or damage to gear. The study, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Competition between small-scale fishers and industrial vessels can threaten food security and livelihoods in coastal communities, especially in the Global South. A new study looks at which countries are most vulnerable to this competition and other forms of conflict between the two sectors, such as disputes over fishing grounds or damage to gear. The study, published Oct. 22 in the journal Nature Food, introduces an index that scores 126 countries on their vulnerability to such conflicts. The scores are based on factors such as how much industrial activity occurs near shore, how reliant countries are on small-scale fishing for food and income, and how weak their governance systems are. Africa ranked as the most vulnerable region, followed by Oceania, Asia and Central and South America. West Africa and South Asia are the most vulnerable subregions, according to the index. At the country level, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Mozambique received the highest conflict vulnerability scores worldwide. “There are lots of diverse ways that industrial fisheries can impact small-scale fisheries,” Melissa Cronin, an assistant professor of fisheries oceanography at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth in the U.S. and lead author of the study, told Mongabay. One of the most straightforward ways is via competition for the “exact same target fish species,” she said. “Because industrial vessels or large-scale vessels are so efficient technologically, they can fish much more quickly and … be this kind of bigger predator in the system and outcompete those small-scale fishers. Cronin said she’d become interested in the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/new-index-tracks-countries-vulnerability-to-conflict-between-large-and-small-scale-fishers/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/new-index-tracks-countries-vulnerability-to-conflict-between-large-and-small-scale-fishers/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-334678</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Pemba&#8217;s new marine protected areas show the power of collaboration to meet 30&#215;30 goal</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/pembas-new-marine-protected-areas-show-the-power-of-collaboration-to-meet-30x30-goal/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/pembas-new-marine-protected-areas-show-the-power-of-collaboration-to-meet-30x30-goal/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Oct 2026 07:45:46 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sasha Nunneley]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/29063925/DSC04884_AdrianPonsardWCS-scaled-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=334310</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, and Tanzania]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[30x30 conservation target, Conservation, Conservation Finance, Environmental Policy, Finance, Fisheries, Governance, Marine Protected Areas, Oceans, and Protected Areas]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Omar Hamad Salim, like many other fishermen from Tumbe village, relies on the ocean for food, an income and a way of life. A number of years ago, he and his fellow fishers began returning from the sea with less and less. “Fishers would go to sea and return with very few fish, or sometimes [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Omar Hamad Salim, like many other fishermen from Tumbe village, relies on the ocean for food, an income and a way of life. A number of years ago, he and his fellow fishers began returning from the sea with less and less. “Fishers would go to sea and return with very few fish, or sometimes none at all,” Salim says. “And this was not a temporary situation; the shortage had persisted for an extended period.” Salim is one of 12 elected members of the fisheries committee for the Tumbe shehia, or ward, on the north-eastern shore of Pemba Island, part of the semi-autonomous archipelago of Zanzibar. Shehia fishing committees elsewhere on Pemba’s east coast were also worried as their catches shrank. They decided that something had to change. Salim and a few others from Tumbe village conducted a more detailed assessment of what was actually happening, which they then presented to the rest of the village during a public meeting. Fishing committees on Pemba island’s east coast grew worried as their catches shrank. Image courtesy of Adrian Ponsard/WCS. In a phone interview, Jean Mensa, director of the Tanzania Marine Program for conservation organization WCS, told Mongabay that government officials had raised the possibility of establishing a conservation area on Pemba’s eastern coastline with WCS. Villagers in the area, he said, attributed the faltering fisheries primarily to overfishing. The conservation organization seized the opportunity. “We asked them point blank if they wanted to have a marine conservation area in the area,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/pembas-new-marine-protected-areas-show-the-power-of-collaboration-to-meet-30x30-goal/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/pembas-new-marine-protected-areas-show-the-power-of-collaboration-to-meet-30x30-goal/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-334310</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Fishers in eastern Indonesia struggle as rough seas keep them ashore</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/fishers-in-eastern-indonesia-struggle-as-rough-seas-keep-them-ashore/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/fishers-in-eastern-indonesia-struggle-as-rough-seas-keep-them-ashore/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Oct 2026 05:19:57 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Basten Gokkon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/29045302/WhatsApp-Image-2026-10-22-at-09.37.32-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=334289</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Global, Indonesia, Maluku, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Climate, Climate Change, Climate Science, Conservation, El Nino, Environment, Fish, Fisheries, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Ocean Warming, Oceans, Research, Saltwater Fish, Science, and Tropics]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Fishers in the east Indonesian Maluku Islands say rough seas are keeping them ashore and shrinking their catches as El Niño builds, according to early local monitoring and interviews. Yustinus Pesireron, a 64-year-old fisherman from Kaibobo village on Seram island in Maluku, told Mongabay on Oct. 2 he had not been to sea for almost [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Fishers in the east Indonesian Maluku Islands say rough seas are keeping them ashore and shrinking their catches as El Niño builds, according to early local monitoring and interviews. Yustinus Pesireron, a 64-year-old fisherman from Kaibobo village on Seram island in Maluku, told Mongabay on Oct. 2 he had not been to sea for almost a month — the longest break of his three decades on the water. He said fishing is the main source of income in the village of about 1,800 people. Yustinus said the earnings he makes from selling his catch finance daily household needs and school expenses for three of his six children. Local monitoring by partners of the UK-headquartered conservation group Blue Ventures shows the amount of fish caught on an average fishing trip in coastal waters around Ambon and Seram islands fell to an average of 3.6 kilograms (7.9 pounds) in April-July 2026 at one monitoring site, down from 8.3 kg (18.3 lb) in 2025 and 10.6 kg (23.4 lb) in 2024. The group said the data do not show that fish populations are shrinking. Rather, fishers report that higher waves and rougher seas are limiting how long they can fish and how far they can travel. “Sometimes, even when the weather isn’t good, we still go out to sea and catch some fish,” Yustinus told Mongabay in a phone interview. “But, as we say here in Maluku, such a catch is only enough to cover the cost of fuel, and perhaps food. That’s&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/fishers-in-eastern-indonesia-struggle-as-rough-seas-keep-them-ashore/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/fishers-in-eastern-indonesia-struggle-as-rough-seas-keep-them-ashore/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-334289</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Googly-eyed buoys and kites help keep seabirds out of fishing nets, study finds</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/googly-eyed-buoys-and-kites-help-keep-seabirds-out-of-fishing-nets-study-finds/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/googly-eyed-buoys-and-kites-help-keep-seabirds-out-of-fishing-nets-study-finds/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Oct 2026 04:55:20 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/23043242/FISHTEK-LEB-stills-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=333625</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Britain, England, Europe, Global, and United Kingdom]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birds, Conservation, Environment, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Marine Animals, Research, Saltwater Fish, Science, Seabirds, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Off the coast of Cornwall in southwest England, a pole rises from a buoy with a pair of big eyes on top. The head spins, creating what researchers call an “animated eye effect.” Its job is to scare away seabirds away before they dive into the fishing net below. On other nets, a kite shaped [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Off the coast of Cornwall in southwest England, a pole rises from a buoy with a pair of big eyes on top. The head spins, creating what researchers call an “animated eye effect.” Its job is to scare away seabirds away before they dive into the fishing net below. On other nets, a kite shaped like a bird of prey flies from a pole. According to a new study in Conservation Letters, both devices reduced the chance that diving seabirds would drown in gillnets. Nets fitted with the kites had 71% lower odds of catching an auk, the bird family that includes guillemots and razorbills. Nets fitted with the buoys had 59% lower odds. “People may enjoy seeing seabirds around our coasts, but very few witness the moment when a diving bird encounters fishing gear,” lead author Tom Horton, a research fellow at the University of Exeter, told Mongabay. Razorbills are among the seabirds that get caught in fishing nets. Thousands of birds are die in fishing nets each year. Image courtesy of Nina Constable. Gillnets are a major threat to diving birds because the birds forage underwater, where they can get tangled in the mesh, the authors write. Gillnets in the Baltic Sea and Northeast Atlantic kill more than 95,000 seabirds a year, according to a 2024 review. Across all European fisheries, about 31,000 common guillemots (Uria aalge) die as bycatch each year, the same review found. Fixes have been hard to find. An earlier trial of the eye&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/googly-eyed-buoys-and-kites-help-keep-seabirds-out-of-fishing-nets-study-finds/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/googly-eyed-buoys-and-kites-help-keep-seabirds-out-of-fishing-nets-study-finds/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-333625</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>As silky sharks decline, Costa Rica’s dominant trade faces a reckoning</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/as-silky-sharks-decline-costa-ricas-dominant-trade-faces-a-reckoning/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/as-silky-sharks-decline-costa-ricas-dominant-trade-faces-a-reckoning/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Oct 2026 17:03:20 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Alex Megerle]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sharon Guynup]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/17023353/silky1_Silky_shark_Bahamas_Brendan_Talwar-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=333033</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Atlantic Ocean, Central America, China, Costa Rica, East Asia, Global, Hong Kong, Indian Ocean, Latin America, North America, and Pacific Ocean]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Business, Conservation, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Environment, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Overfishing, Saltwater Fish, Sharks, Trade, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Inside an inspection facility in Hong Kong in 2018, shark biologist Diego Cardeñosa stared at dozens of large white bags. They were stacked, sometimes six or seven high, beneath strip lights hanging from the ceiling. Each bag weighed more than 50 kilograms (110 pounds) — and was stuffed with shark fins. “It was the first [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Inside an inspection facility in Hong Kong in 2018, shark biologist Diego Cardeñosa stared at dozens of large white bags. They were stacked, sometimes six or seven high, beneath strip lights hanging from the ceiling. Each bag weighed more than 50 kilograms (110 pounds) — and was stuffed with shark fins. “It was the first time I saw that,” Cardeñosa wrote in an email to Mongabay. “Obviously, as a student, it was a shock and [a] reality check for me.” Cardeñosa, now a shark trade researcher at Florida International University in the U.S., lived in Hong Kong in 2018 and returned repeatedly from 2015 to 2020 as part of his PhD field research at Stony Brook University, also in the U.S. He helped train law enforcement in Hong Kong to use a mobile DNA kit to identify shark species whose trade is regulated under CITES, a treaty signed by 184 countries and the European Union that establishes rules for international trade in imperiled plants, wildlife, and their products. Many of the fins Cardeñosa saw in Hong Kong back in 2018 were cut from silky sharks (Carcharhinus falciformis). Like all shark species, silkies are heavily hunted for their fins, which are used in shark fin soup in China and Southeast Asia; they are also netted in vast numbers as bycatch. Shark numbers have cratered over the last 50 years. A 2024 study found that overfishing has halved populations of roughly 1,200 species of sharks and rays since 1970. An average of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/as-silky-sharks-decline-costa-ricas-dominant-trade-faces-a-reckoning/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/as-silky-sharks-decline-costa-ricas-dominant-trade-faces-a-reckoning/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-333033</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Funding uncertainty threatens Tasmania’s gains against kelp-grazing sea urchins</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/funding-uncertainty-threatens-tasmanias-gains-against-kelp-grazing-sea-urchins/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/funding-uncertainty-threatens-tasmanias-gains-against-kelp-grazing-sea-urchins/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>19 Oct 2026 06:00:06 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Amina McCauley]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/15150851/giant-kelp-portrait-8_PortDavey_TAS_StefanAndrews-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=332749</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Australia, Oceania, and Tasmania]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Coastal Ecosystems, Conservation, Ecosystems, Environment, Fisheries, Fishing, Funding, Invasive Species, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Seagrass, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[For nearly a decade, divers off Tasmania’s east coast have been getting a boost from the government to harvest the invasive sea urchins killing off kelp forests that fringe the Australian island state. A state program offers financial incentives to support a commercial fishery for the highly valuable roe of the long-spined sea urchin (Centrostephanus [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[For nearly a decade, divers off Tasmania’s east coast have been getting a boost from the government to harvest the invasive sea urchins killing off kelp forests that fringe the Australian island state. A state program offers financial incentives to support a commercial fishery for the highly valuable roe of the long-spined sea urchin (Centrostephanus rodgersii), also known as Centro. The aim is to reduce urchin numbers in targeted areas so the kelp can rebound. Researchers say the program has been effective in helping the recovery of some of the state’s kelp forests. Now, however, they warn that progress is threatened by a shift to short-term funding cycles that undermine stability for harvesters and put kelp recovery on wobbly ground. John Keane, senior research fellow and wild fisheries program leader at the University of Tasmania’s Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) in Hobart, has been studying Centro for more than 15 years and diving off Tasmania’s coast for 26 years. He told Mongabay he’s watched the kelp forests decline over the years. “The rise of the fishery has put a halt on that in some areas,” he said. “We have seen some localized successes where we’ve seen kelp come back.” Long-spined sea urchin (Centrostephanus rodgersii), also known as Centro, photographed in Tasmania. Image © Oliver Orr via iNaturalist (CC BY-NC 4.0). Australia’s other great reef The Great Southern Reef is a temperate network of rocky reefs dominated by kelp forests that stretches across 8,000 kilometers (about 5,000 miles) of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/funding-uncertainty-threatens-tasmanias-gains-against-kelp-grazing-sea-urchins/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/funding-uncertainty-threatens-tasmanias-gains-against-kelp-grazing-sea-urchins/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-332749</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Seagrass meadows may offer coastal communities a more nutritious catch than reefs</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/seagrass-meadows-may-offer-coastal-communities-a-more-nutritious-catch-than-reefs/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/seagrass-meadows-may-offer-coastal-communities-a-more-nutritious-catch-than-reefs/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Oct 2026 07:13:38 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rajeev Tyagi]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavika Vyawhare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/15150732/3-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=332718</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa and East Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Economics, Environment, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Food, Freshwater Fish, Governance, Marine Animals, Nutrition, and Oceans]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Researchers surveyed 40 sites along the East African coastline from Kenya to Mozambique, studying seagrass and coral reef ecosystems. They found that when it comes to benefits for coastal communities, seagrasses bring something important to the plate. In a paper published in Cell Reports Sustainability, they write that while reefs support “greater fish biomass, abundance, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Researchers surveyed 40 sites along the East African coastline from Kenya to Mozambique, studying seagrass and coral reef ecosystems. They found that when it comes to benefits for coastal communities, seagrasses bring something important to the plate. In a paper published in Cell Reports Sustainability, they write that while reefs support “greater fish biomass, abundance, and richness overall,” fish communities living in seagrass meadows may provide a richer mix of nutrients when seen from the perspective of human sustenance. These marine habitats have gained prominence in recent years not only as fish nurseries but as carbon sinks and acting as the first line of defense against floods and storms. “Protecting seagrass meadows should therefore be seen not only as biodiversity conservation but also as a public health and food security priority,” the study authors write. Rabbitfish in a seagrass meadow. Image courtesy of Benjamin Jones. Lead author Benjamin Jones, a Ph.D. student at Stockholm University at the time of the research, said the study isn&#8217;t about comparing ecosystems, but rather about applying a new lens to marine conservation. Often, a marine ecosystem’s value is determined by fish production. But for vulnerable coastal communities, “the reliability of catching nutritious fish can be just as important as the total number of fish in the sea,” said Jones, who’s now the chief conservation officer at Project Seagrass, a U.K.-based environmental charity. Accounting for fish biomass and depth, the seagrass meadows studied were “1.6 times more nutritionally multifunctional” than coral reefs, according to the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/seagrass-meadows-may-offer-coastal-communities-a-more-nutritious-catch-than-reefs/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/seagrass-meadows-may-offer-coastal-communities-a-more-nutritious-catch-than-reefs/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-332718</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Nations at southern bluefin tuna meeting stop short of adopting new seabird protections</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/nations-at-southern-bluefin-tuna-meeting-stop-short-of-adopting-new-seabird-protections/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/nations-at-southern-bluefin-tuna-meeting-stop-short-of-adopting-new-seabird-protections/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 Oct 2026 10:17:25 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Edward Carver]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Autumn Spanne]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/15063719/6_B_Wandering_albatrosses_South_Georgia_Jamie_Latimer-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=332681</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Arctic Ocean, Asia, Atlantic Ocean, Australia, Belgium, East Asia, Europe, Global, Indian Ocean, Japan, New Zealand, Oceania, Pacific Islands, Pacific Ocean, Polynesia, Southern Ocean, and Taiwan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birds, Bycatch, Conservation, Ecosystems, Environment, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Governance, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Saltwater Fish, Seabirds, Tuna, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Seabird protections drew debate at the annual meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT), held Oct. 5-8 in Brussels. The eight-member multilateral body that manages the stock has long struggled to curb seabird deaths caused by longline fishing targeting southern bluefin tuna (Thunnus maccoyii) across several oceans. This year’s meeting [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Seabird protections drew debate at the annual meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT), held Oct. 5-8 in Brussels. The eight-member multilateral body that manages the stock has long struggled to curb seabird deaths caused by longline fishing targeting southern bluefin tuna (Thunnus maccoyii) across several oceans. This year’s meeting saw a modicum of progress on the issue. Based on recent modeling, the parties agreed on 13 priority seabird species for conservation efforts and designated high-risk areas for them. However, the designations don’t carry any new mandatory protections: Due to the reluctance of some members, the commission stopped short of adopting proposed conservation measures for the high-risk areas, most notably tighter seabird bycatch mitigation requirements. Oliver Yates, head of the marine program at BirdLife International, a U.K.-based NGO, told Mongabay that the identification of high-risk areas was “a good step forward” but said it was a problem that “they&#8217;ve not then adopted any management action to accompany the fishing activity in those spatial areas.” “[T]hey recognise bycatch of seabirds is a very serious issue but again agreed to do nothing about it,” Yates, who attended the Brussels meeting, added in a text message. There are more than a dozen RFMOs in the world, with some overlapping geographically but managing different fish stocks. The map shows the five best-known and most commercially important RFMOs, which focus on tuna and tuna-like species. Image courtesy of Pew Charitable Trusts. Sources: U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, FAO Map Catalog.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/nations-at-southern-bluefin-tuna-meeting-stop-short-of-adopting-new-seabird-protections/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/nations-at-southern-bluefin-tuna-meeting-stop-short-of-adopting-new-seabird-protections/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-332681</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Belize looks to the deep sea to complete its 30% ocean protection pledge</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/belize-looks-to-the-deep-sea-to-complete-its-30-ocean-protection-pledge/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/belize-looks-to-the-deep-sea-to-complete-its-30-ocean-protection-pledge/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 Oct 2026 07:00:05 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Marco Lopez]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/13165408/OceanImageBank_ConnorHolland_25-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=332483</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Belize, Central America, and North America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Deep Sea, Ecosystems, Environment, Fisheries, Fishing, Habitat, Marine, Marine Conservation, Marine Protected Areas, Oceans, Overfishing, and Protected Areas]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Belize is turning to its deep waters to fulfill its pledge to protect 30% of its ocean and achieve the sixth milestone of its Blue Bond agreement. A draft marine spatial plan submitted on Sept. 8 for government approval proposes closing the final gap to 30% by establishing three offshore marine protected areas (MPAs). Officials [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Belize is turning to its deep waters to fulfill its pledge to protect 30% of its ocean and achieve the sixth milestone of its Blue Bond agreement. A draft marine spatial plan submitted on Sept. 8 for government approval proposes closing the final gap to 30% by establishing three offshore marine protected areas (MPAs). Officials say the choice serves two ends at once: protecting distinctive deepwater features the country has never fully safeguarded, and steering clear of the coastal grounds fishers depend on. The decision to protect offshore areas emerged from previously agreed criteria for establishing marine protected areas, according to Samir Rosado, who led the plan’s development as head of marine spatial planning at the government’s Coastal Zone Management Authority &amp; Institute (CZMAI). “These criteria contain social as well as ecological considerations for the identification of the areas,” Rosado told Mongabay in an email. “Overwhelmingly, stakeholders expressed their absolute reluctance to increase protections in nearshore areas as they believe this space was already saturated. A gap analysis was done on the representation of ecosystems within the existing MPA network, and it confirmed this.” With more than 50% of Belize’s corals and nearly 40% of its seagrass already within MPAs, he said the underrepresented features of Belize’s MPA network were in the deep. For local fishers who pushed back hard against earlier proposals to close traditional inshore fishing grounds instead, the new zones, sitting well beyond the waters where they work, are welcome. However, experts say this decision is unlikely&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/belize-looks-to-the-deep-sea-to-complete-its-30-ocean-protection-pledge/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/belize-looks-to-the-deep-sea-to-complete-its-30-ocean-protection-pledge/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-332483</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>From paper parks to lasting protection, here’s what works in marine conservation</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/from-paper-parks-to-lasting-protection-heres-what-works-in-marine-conservation/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/from-paper-parks-to-lasting-protection-heres-what-works-in-marine-conservation/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 Oct 2026 03:23:39 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/12123146/64-Peruvian-artisanal-fisher-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=332276</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Founder's briefs]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Latin America, Mesoamerica, Mexico, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Coastal Ecosystems, Conservation, Coral Reefs, Fisheries, Fishing, Mangroves, Marine, Marine Protected Areas, Oceans, Restoration, and Wildlife Corridors]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In recent years, there has been a steady stream of ocean conservation pledges, from French Polynesia extending marine protection across its nearly 5 million-square-kilometer exclusive economic zone, including more than 1 million square kilometers of highly or fully protected waters, to the Eastern Tropical Pacific Marine Corridor (CMAR), where Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Panama [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In recent years, there has been a steady stream of ocean conservation pledges, from French Polynesia extending marine protection across its nearly 5 million-square-kilometer exclusive economic zone, including more than 1 million square kilometers of highly or fully protected waters, to the Eastern Tropical Pacific Marine Corridor (CMAR), where Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Panama agreed to establish a contiguous, transboundary safe passage of more than 500,000 square kilometers (193,000 square miles) for migratory species. There is also much greater recognition of the contributions made by traditional stewards, including Indigenous communities, artisanal fishers, and other coastal communities. On paper, at least, this would seem to bode well for progress toward protecting 30% of the ocean by 2030. Yet at the same time that these announcements are being made, we also hear about “paper parks” — those protected in name only — industrial fishing vessels entering protected areas, boats turning off their transponders, and abandoned fishing gear drifting through supposedly protected waters. Coral reef in the Pacific. Photo by Rhett Ayers Butler / Mongabay Over the summer, looking across academic literature and Mongabay’s multilingual coverage, I tried to pin down what the evidence actually shows about marine conservation outcomes in the Americas. Merging peer-reviewed datasets with field reporting has its limitations, but it helps bridge a common divide: studies document broader ecological trends, while journalists track the political compromises and enforcement lapses that shape what happens on the water. Unsurprisingly, the central takeaway is that marine conservation is most likely to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/from-paper-parks-to-lasting-protection-heres-what-works-in-marine-conservation/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/from-paper-parks-to-lasting-protection-heres-what-works-in-marine-conservation/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-332276</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Chinese squid tied to labor abuses finds an easy route into Western markets</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/chinese-squid-tied-to-labor-abuses-finds-an-easy-route-into-western-markets/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/chinese-squid-tied-to-labor-abuses-finds-an-easy-route-into-western-markets/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Oct 2026 07:00:31 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Francesco De Augustinis]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/12143406/1-fishers-with-squid-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=332241</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, China, East Asia, and Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Business, Conservation, Crime, Environment, Environmental Law, Fisheries, Fishing, Food, Food Industry, Forced labor, Governance, Human Rights, Illegal Fishing, Law, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Natural Resources, Oceans, and Supply Chain]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In recent years, a series of high-profile investigations implicated the Chinese fleets targeting squid in international waters in illegal fishing practices, environmental violations, and poor working conditions, including forced labor and deaths at sea. They’ve also identified abusive working conditions in Chinese squid-processing factories. The revelations received widespread public attention, including from elected officials in [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In recent years, a series of high-profile investigations implicated the Chinese fleets targeting squid in international waters in illegal fishing practices, environmental violations, and poor working conditions, including forced labor and deaths at sea. They’ve also identified abusive working conditions in Chinese squid-processing factories. The revelations received widespread public attention, including from elected officials in the U.S. and Europe. Yet a Mongabay analysis shows that Western markets have continued to import Chinese squid products in large quantities. The findings raise concerns about regulatory gaps, lack of transparency and consumer awareness, and the difficulty of adopting effective measures to prevent products linked to abuses from entering the market. “For us, the main problem is that the product, in this case from the Chinese fleet, enters the European market and is difficult to distinguish,” Edelmiro Ulloa, director of the Vigo Shipowners&#8217; Cooperative in Spain, told Mongabay. According to Ulloa, the Spanish fleet, which is based in Vigo and fishes for squid primarily in international waters off Argentina, faces unfair competition. “On Chinese vessels, the working conditions are not only poor, but truly worrying,” he said. According to Ulloa, differences in production standards, including lower labor costs, result in Chinese squid prices being as much as 40% lower than Spanish squid prices. In 2025, China was the world’s leading exporter of frozen squid and cuttlefish products, which represent the vast majority of international trade in these species, with a total export value of $1.6 billion, according to data from ITC Trade Map, a&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/chinese-squid-tied-to-labor-abuses-finds-an-easy-route-into-western-markets/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/chinese-squid-tied-to-labor-abuses-finds-an-easy-route-into-western-markets/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-332241</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Community action to protect Cambodia’s seas: Interview with commune leader Sorn Srenh</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/community-action-to-protect-cambodias-seas-interview-with-commune-leader-sorn-srenh/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/community-action-to-protect-cambodias-seas-interview-with-commune-leader-sorn-srenh/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Oct 2026 09:53:15 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Eung Sea]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Yenni Kwok]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/09120806/IMG_9736-Sorn-Srenh-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=332097</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Conservation leadership, Environment, Environmental Law, Fellows, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Governance, Interviews, Interviews with conservation players, Marine, Marine Conservation, and Oceans]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[PHNOM PENH — In Cambodia’s Koh Sdach archipelago, where turquoise waters hide mounting environmental pressures from overfishing and plastic waste to climate change, one local leader has turned grassroots action into a model for marine conservation. Koh Sdach commune deputy chief Sorn Srenh, a marine advocate who studied fishery science at the Royal University of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[PHNOM PENH — In Cambodia’s Koh Sdach archipelago, where turquoise waters hide mounting environmental pressures from overfishing and plastic waste to climate change, one local leader has turned grassroots action into a model for marine conservation. Koh Sdach commune deputy chief Sorn Srenh, a marine advocate who studied fishery science at the Royal University of Agriculture in Phnom Penh, stands at the intersection of science, policy, and community advocacy. For years, the 38-year-old has worked relentlessly with the fishing community to protect their livelihoods while pushing for sustainable practices that safeguard marine biodiversity. His efforts, ranging from organizing community capacity to lobbying for stronger local enforcement of fishing regulations, have made him a trusted voice among villagers and a rare example of commune-level leadership driving tangible environmental change. For years, Srenh has also been working with the Cambodian government’s Fisheries Administration and the UK-based NGO Fauna &amp; Flora to help establish Koh Sdach’s community fisheries management area, known as a Marine Fisheries Management Area (MFMA). In a phone interview with Mongabay, Srenh shared his vision for community-led conservation, the challenges of balancing economic survival with ecological stewardship, and why protecting Cambodia’s seas matters far beyond its shores. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Fishers in Koh Sdach, Cambodia, on July 19, 2026. Image by Eung Sea for Mongabay. Mongabay: Can you describe your journey from studying fishery science to becoming a grassroots conservation leader in Koh Sdach? What encourages you to protect marine ecosystems? Sorn Srenh: I&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/community-action-to-protect-cambodias-seas-interview-with-commune-leader-sorn-srenh/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/community-action-to-protect-cambodias-seas-interview-with-commune-leader-sorn-srenh/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-332097</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>A chemical kept fishmeal from catching fire. Then scientists raised cancer concerns</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/a-chemical-kept-fishmeal-from-catching-fire-then-scientists-raised-cancer-concerns/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/a-chemical-kept-fishmeal-from-catching-fire-then-scientists-raised-cancer-concerns/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Oct 2026 13:01:51 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ian Urbina]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Andy Lehren]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/08040418/b.-54476493970_8b5ce03b55_o-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=331923</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Chemicals, Fisheries, Fishing, Health, Oceans, Overfishing, and Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[This article is from Food for Feed, a series investigating the global fishmeal industry. It is produced by the Outlaw Ocean Project, a news organization based in Washington, D.C., and excerpted by Mongabay. On Jan. 8, 1966, a South African ship caught fire at sea. At port in Bristol, in the U.K., firefighters pried open [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[This article is from Food for Feed, a series investigating the global fishmeal industry. It is produced by the Outlaw Ocean Project, a news organization based in Washington, D.C., and excerpted by Mongabay. On Jan. 8, 1966, a South African ship caught fire at sea. At port in Bristol, in the U.K., firefighters pried open the smoking container, and the conflagration spread and burned for five days. A little over a month later, on Feb. 11, a Liberian steamship caught fire near Rotterdam. The blaze spread and ignited a storage area with barrels of petrol, raging for several days, before melting the deck and mast, and eventually sinking the vessel. Then, on March 19 that same year, a Danish ship caught fire off Long Beach, California, injuring three firefighters and killing a longshoreman, and causing more than $1 million in estimated damages. These were far from isolated incidents. Fishmeal powder is known for spontaneously combusting as it decays and oxidizes. From the 1950s through the 1970s, fishmeal cargo ignited at least 90 fires on ships and in plants around the world, according to a review of historical news coverage by the Outlaw Ocean Project, a news organization based in Washington, D.C. The culprit in each fire was fishmeal, a dark-yellow powder made by drying and pulverizing fish. More than half of the seafood consumed around the world is from aquafarms. Fishmeal or fish is crucial for farm-raised salmon, shrimp, tilapia, and other species. Fishmeal. Image by Phu Thinh Co via&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/a-chemical-kept-fishmeal-from-catching-fire-then-scientists-raised-cancer-concerns/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/a-chemical-kept-fishmeal-from-catching-fire-then-scientists-raised-cancer-concerns/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331923</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Fishmeal factories take Senegal’s fish from the dinner table</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/fishmeal-factories-take-senegals-fish-from-the-dinner-table/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/fishmeal-factories-take-senegals-fish-from-the-dinner-table/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Oct 2026 13:00:06 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ian Urbina]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Andy Lehren]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/08004931/e.-HIGH-RESOLUTION-GP0477P-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=331878</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa and Senegal]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, and Overfishing]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[This article is from Food for Feed, a series investigating the global fishmeal industry. It is produced by the Outlaw Ocean Project, a news organization based in Washington, D.C., and excerpted by Mongabay. On Aug. 20, 2022, at least 50 protesters poured into the streets of Cayar, Senegal, demanding the closure of a nearby fishmeal [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[This article is from Food for Feed, a series investigating the global fishmeal industry. It is produced by the Outlaw Ocean Project, a news organization based in Washington, D.C., and excerpted by Mongabay. On Aug. 20, 2022, at least 50 protesters poured into the streets of Cayar, Senegal, demanding the closure of a nearby fishmeal factory, Touba Protéine Marine. Marching from the coastal town’s fishing wharf to the plant, they hoisted signs reading “Cayar is sick” and “Our water is contaminated.” In a video that spread widely on Facebook, demonstrators chanted, “Time to respect our Cayar.” Their grievances were many. Protesters said the Senegalese government had broken its pledge not to authorize any new fishmeal plants — factories that produce a lucrative dark-yellow powder by cooking and pulverizing fish. Touba Protéine Marine, they said, had been built less than a third of a mile from homes, triggering health problems and violating local zoning laws, according to government documents and satellite imagery. The stench, residents said, made daily life unbearable. “Harsh reality of the Global South,” wrote Serigne Mbaye, one of the demonstrators, in a Facebook post sharing the protest video. The plant, owned until 2022 by the Spanish company Barna, was said to process whole fish. Elsewhere in the world, fishmeal is typically produced from bycatch and undesired parts of fish. The use of whole fish is legal, according to Fatou Diouf, a director in Senegal’s Ministry of Fisheries, in a written response to questions. “There is no law prohibiting&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/fishmeal-factories-take-senegals-fish-from-the-dinner-table/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/fishmeal-factories-take-senegals-fish-from-the-dinner-table/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331878</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Endangered angelshark is still traded in Brazil despite import ban</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/endangered-angelshark-is-still-traded-in-brazil-despite-import-ban/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/endangered-angelshark-is-still-traded-in-brazil-despite-import-ban/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Oct 2026 18:34:45 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Fernanda Wenzel]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/08144635/stalls-in-the-Porto-Alegre-Public-Market-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=331970</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Shark Meat Nation]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Brazil, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Business, Conservation, Crime, Environment, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Food, Food Industry, Governance, Illegal Fishing, Illegal Trade, Marine, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Saltwater Fish, Sharks, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil — “Good choice!” said the clerk at one of the fish stalls in the Porto Alegre Public Market when Mongabay asked about the peixe anjo, which means “angel fish” in Portuguese, in mid-September. “We sell a lot of these. It’s really good, and it doesn’t have any bones.” The same product was [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil — “Good choice!” said the clerk at one of the fish stalls in the Porto Alegre Public Market when Mongabay asked about the peixe anjo, which means “angel fish” in Portuguese, in mid-September. “We sell a lot of these. It’s really good, and it doesn’t have any bones.” The same product was for sale by at least four other fishmongers in the traditional market of the capital of Rio Grande do Sul state, in the South of Brazil. Prices were attractive, ranging from 30 to 37 reais per kilo ($5.70 to $7). The problem is that the “angel” isn’t just any fish — it’s a shark. More specifically, an angelshark, and in Brazil, that means three of the world’s most endangered shark species: Squatina guggenheim, the angular angelshark; S. occulta, the hidden angelshark; and S. argentina, the Argentine angelshark. And fishing of these species is prohibited in Brazil. For many years, the Brazilian government authorized the import of angelsharks from neighboring countries. According to data from the Federal Revenue Service obtained by Mongabay through the Freedom of Information Act, 48 metric tons of S. guggenheim meat and 194.6 metric tons of S. argentina entered Brazil between January 2021 and Sept. 10, 2026, totaling 242.6 metric tons. Most of the shipments came from Argentina, entering the country through the customs ports of São Borja and Uruguaiana municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul, and Dionísio Cerqueira in Santa Catarina state. Once in Brazil, the imported product was mixed with&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/endangered-angelshark-is-still-traded-in-brazil-despite-import-ban/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/endangered-angelshark-is-still-traded-in-brazil-despite-import-ban/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331970</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>South Korea strengthens migrant fisher protections. Advocates are not impressed</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/south-korea-strengthens-migrant-fisher-protections-advocates-are-not-impressed/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/south-korea-strengthens-migrant-fisher-protections-advocates-are-not-impressed/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Oct 2026 14:47:18 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Andrew Jeong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Yenni Kwok]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2018/05/31010214/farisbobero3_Nelayan-Bajo-Sankuang-abk-bagan-ikan-saat-menarik-jangkar-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=331941</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, East Asia, and South Korea]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Conflict, Crime, Culture, Environment, Environmental Law, Fisheries, Fishing, Food Industry, Forced labor, Governance, Human Rights, Industry, Law, Law Enforcement, Oceans, Regulations, Slavery, and trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[SEOUL — At 2 a.m. one night, two Indonesian fishers were gripping a flimsy, makeshift rope, hanging on for dear life. The precarious rope dangled from the eighth-floor window of a motel room overlooking a dark alley in the South Korean port city of Busan, swinging left and right with the wind. The men had [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[SEOUL — At 2 a.m. one night, two Indonesian fishers were gripping a flimsy, makeshift rope, hanging on for dear life. The precarious rope dangled from the eighth-floor window of a motel room overlooking a dark alley in the South Korean port city of Busan, swinging left and right with the wind. The men had been locked up in that room for nearly 24 hours, and they were trying to make their escape. But the crude rope, made out of tied bed sheets, unraveled, sending the men plunging. One fell to his death, hitting the pavement headfirst. The other survived with a broken leg, according to Lee Han-sook, director of the Migration and Human Rights Institute, a Busan-based civic group. She was briefed on the July 21 incident by the survivor, whom she declined to name. According to activists, the incident served as one of the last straws that prompted the government to boost efforts to crack down on human trafficking, especially abuses against migrant workers in the country’s $7.5 billion fishing industry. On Sept. 2, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced they had amended national guidelines on human trafficking to make it easier for law enforcement officials to spot and stop forced labor and other abuses in the fishing industry. The new guidelines outline specific situations in which the likelihood of human rights abuse is high, such as seeing workers who have physical injuries being left untreated, workers who have&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/south-korea-strengthens-migrant-fisher-protections-advocates-are-not-impressed/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/south-korea-strengthens-migrant-fisher-protections-advocates-are-not-impressed/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331941</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>International Whaling Commission rejects push to revive commercial whaling</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/international-whaling-commission-rejects-push-to-revive-commercial-whaling/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/international-whaling-commission-rejects-push-to-revive-commercial-whaling/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>07 Oct 2026 11:20:26 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elizabeth Claire Alberts]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/07110650/OceanImageBank_LarsvonRitterZahony_14-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=331801</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Fisheries, Oceans, and Whaling]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A push to reopen the door to commercial whaling failed at the recent meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) after a controversial resolution was taken off the table on the last day. The draft resolution, put forward by the Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda and co-sponsored by Palau, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A push to reopen the door to commercial whaling failed at the recent meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) after a controversial resolution was taken off the table on the last day. The draft resolution, put forward by the Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda and co-sponsored by Palau, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia and Togo, called for the IWC to discuss the “sustainable use of whale resources” and introduced a path toward the reintroduction of commercial whaling. The bill, however, was ultimately withdrawn by another Caribbean nation, Grenada, which did not co-sponsor the bill, leaving the IWC’s 40-year-old global moratorium on commercial whaling intact. The IWC, an intergovernmental organization that oversees the management and conservation of cetaceans, including whales, dolphins and porpoises, convened its 70th meeting between Sept. 27 and Oct. 2 in Hobart, Tasmania. Approximately 400 delegates from all 89 member governments and several observer organizations attended this year’s commission meeting, which has been held biennially since 2012. The meeting marked 80 years since the IWC was established and 40 years since the moratorium it placed on commercial whaling took effect. The International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, the international agreement that established the IWC in 1946, only refers to baleen and toothed whales, leading some to believe the moratorium only applies to these species, and not smaller cetacean species. Experts say the moratorium has aided the recovery of many whale species once on the brink of extinction due to whaling. But other threats to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/international-whaling-commission-rejects-push-to-revive-commercial-whaling/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/international-whaling-commission-rejects-push-to-revive-commercial-whaling/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331801</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Vietnam’s fishers face rising costs, declining catches and a contested sea</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/vietnams-fishers-face-rising-costs-declining-catches-and-a-contested-sea/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/vietnams-fishers-face-rising-costs-declining-catches-and-a-contested-sea/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Oct 2026 18:01:16 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Minh L Tran]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/02130412/vietnamese-fishers-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=331508</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Southeast Asia, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conflict, Culture, Economics, Environment, Fisheries, Fishing, Governance, Marine, Oceans, Resource Conflict, and War]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[QUANG NGAI, Vietnam — When diesel prices in Vietnam hit an all-time high in March, Vo Huu Viet, a fisherman with more than 30 years at sea in Quang Ngai province in Central Vietnam, did something he rarely does. He stayed on shore. “The catch is simply not enough to make up for the labor of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[QUANG NGAI, Vietnam — When diesel prices in Vietnam hit an all-time high in March, Vo Huu Viet, a fisherman with more than 30 years at sea in Quang Ngai province in Central Vietnam, did something he rarely does. He stayed on shore. “The catch is simply not enough to make up for the labor of four men,” Viet said. Docking the aging wooden boat he inherited from his father means he, his wife, his crew and their families had to do other work, such as hauling heavy goods for other people, to make ends meet. Viet was hardly alone. In fishing ports around Vietnam, thousands of boats stayed docked for months as the fuel crisis made sea-bound trips unprofitable. The hike in fuel prices, fishers told Mongabay, didn’t just raise the cost of diesel — it raised the cost of everything else that supports a fishing boat, from ice to food. From March 1 to April 21 of this year, fishing activities around Vietnam fell 18.9% compared with the same time last year, from the nonprofit vessel-tracking platform Global Fishing Watch. For energy-intensive trawlers, the drop was 31%. As fuel prices spiked in Vietnam, fishing boats spent fewer hours on the water. Graphic by Andrés Alegria/Mongabay. Fuel is not the only pressure. Declining fish stocks — the result of years of unsustainable and illegal fishing, compounded by climate change — along with international pressures to tighten fishing enforcement and the growing presence of Chinese vessels add to the strain. The&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/vietnams-fishers-face-rising-costs-declining-catches-and-a-contested-sea/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/vietnams-fishers-face-rising-costs-declining-catches-and-a-contested-sea/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331508</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>New global maps chart 40 years of ocean heat and acidification extremes</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/new-global-maps-chart-40-years-of-ocean-heat-and-acidification-extremes/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/new-global-maps-chart-40-years-of-ocean-heat-and-acidification-extremes/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Sep 2026 11:22:10 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[María Paula Rubiano A.]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Autumn Spanne]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/25101034/a.-BANNER-da65bd48-4b5b-4ca7-9598-ea1df2f84852Original-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=330790</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Cetaceans, Climate, Climate Change, Climate Science, El Nino, Fish, Fisheries, Impact Of Climate Change, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Mammals, Ocean Acidification, Ocean Warming, Oceans, Saltwater Fish, Seabirds, Whales, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Between 2014 and 2015, a marine heatwave known as “The Blob” warmed an area of the Pacific Ocean larger than the United States and Mexico combined. The massive event fueled toxic algae blooms, collapsed fisheries, killed off millions of emaciated seabirds, sent dead fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) and sea otters washing up on Alaska and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Between 2014 and 2015, a marine heatwave known as “The Blob” warmed an area of the Pacific Ocean larger than the United States and Mexico combined. The massive event fueled toxic algae blooms, collapsed fisheries, killed off millions of emaciated seabirds, sent dead fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) and sea otters washing up on Alaska and British Columbia coasts, and dotted California shores with starving sea lions. Though best known as a marine heat wave, The Blob was also an extreme acidification event. Yet occurrences of these compound heat-acidity extreme events remain poorly understood. A new study, published in the journal AGU Advances in August, provides a detailed look at the frequency, intensity and duration of these compound events during the last four decades. The study reveals an understudied aspect of marine heat waves that could have implications for the developing 2026-2027 “super” El Niño, in which waters in the equatorial Pacific become unusually warm due to changing wind patterns. An underweight sea lion pup on a beach in February 2015. Image by NOAA Fisheries West Coast. Researchers from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich) found compound heat-acidity events across the globe happen together “more frequently than would be expected by chance,&#8221; they wrote. Instead, the researchers attributed their occurrence to underlying ocean physics that allow marine heat waves to become unusually acidic in some regions. These events are mostly short-lived and small, with 67% of the 500 identified events lasting less than three months and extending to an&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/new-global-maps-chart-40-years-of-ocean-heat-and-acidification-extremes/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/new-global-maps-chart-40-years-of-ocean-heat-and-acidification-extremes/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-330790</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>As yellow-eyed penguins disappear, conservationists focus on deaths in fishing nets</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/as-yellow-eyed-penguins-disappear-conservationists-focus-on-deaths-in-fishing-nets/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/as-yellow-eyed-penguins-disappear-conservationists-focus-on-deaths-in-fishing-nets/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Sep 2026 16:57:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Edward Carver]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/28113111/12-A-yellow-eyed-penguin-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=331013</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[New Zealand, Oceania, Pacific Islands, and Polynesia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birds, Conservation, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Law, Fishing, Governance, Islands, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Penguins, Seabirds, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[OTAGO PENINSULA, Aotearoa New Zealand — Sandfly Bay was long a key nesting area for yellow-eyed penguins (Megadyptes antipodes), noisy, pink-footed birds that spend long days foraging at sea. But this wild beach on the Otago Peninsula, like others nearby, has gone quiet. In 2024, the last breeding-age female at Sandfly Bay, who’d been consistently [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[OTAGO PENINSULA, Aotearoa New Zealand — Sandfly Bay was long a key nesting area for yellow-eyed penguins (Megadyptes antipodes), noisy, pink-footed birds that spend long days foraging at sea. But this wild beach on the Otago Peninsula, like others nearby, has gone quiet. In 2024, the last breeding-age female at Sandfly Bay, who’d been consistently producing chicks for a dozen years, drowned in a fishing net. Fishing has been one of many factors driving the species, which is only found in Aotearoa New Zealand, toward extinction. In the 2008-2009 breeding season, there were 739 breeding pairs in the “mainland” New Zealand population, which includes pairs on nearby islands. But the population has dropped since then to 117 pairs — a decline of more than 80%. These figures don’t account for yellow-eyed penguins on New Zealand’s remote southern islands, which are poorly surveyed. The IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority, listed the species as endangered in its last assessment, in 2020, when the mainland population was still twice what it is now. Several experts told Mongabay that the species’ chances of survival are slim, though most said they still had faith. “I think I’d always like to say that there’s hope because otherwise why do you do what you do, but things are pretty dire,” Trudi Webster, a marine scientist who’s worked on research and conservation of the species for the past decade, told Mongabay. A number of organizations are working to save the yellow-eyed penguin, and much of the conservation&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/as-yellow-eyed-penguins-disappear-conservationists-focus-on-deaths-in-fishing-nets/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/as-yellow-eyed-penguins-disappear-conservationists-focus-on-deaths-in-fishing-nets/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331013</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Tourism has the potential to reverse coral decline at Bali travel hotspot: Study</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/tourism-has-potential-to-slow-coral-decline-at-bali-travel-hotspot-study/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/tourism-has-potential-to-slow-coral-decline-at-bali-travel-hotspot-study/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Sep 2026 02:01:37 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Carolyn Cowan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/21153916/Image-by-Anett-SzasziOcean-Image-Bank-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=330326</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Coastal Ecosystems, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, Coral Reefs, Development, Ecotourism, Fishing, Funding, Governance, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Rehabilitation, Research, Restoration, Solutions, Tourism, and Travel]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Sanur is where tourism took off in Bali. A coastal town overlooking the Lombok Strait where the Pacific Ocean flows into the Indian Ocean, artists and travelers began frequenting its shores in the 1920s. Today, the local economy still depends on income from visitors seeking its sun-kissed sands and cozy waters that hold the promise [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Sanur is where tourism took off in Bali. A coastal town overlooking the Lombok Strait where the Pacific Ocean flows into the Indian Ocean, artists and travelers began frequenting its shores in the 1920s. Today, the local economy still depends on income from visitors seeking its sun-kissed sands and cozy waters that hold the promise of encounters with all manner of tropical marine life. But new research indicates all is not well with Sanur’s precious marine ecosystems. Its coral reefs are steadily degrading, despite multiple efforts to rehabilitate them by planting coral fragments or building artificial reefs. The recent study, published in Ocean &amp; Coastal Management, found reef restoration initiatives in Sanur often take place without first addressing the primary drivers of coral decline, such as sediment runoff and wastewater discharge. “People see the visible impact on the coral reef, so they feel it’s urgent to do something about it there,” study lead author Min Chung, a master’s student at the University of Tokyo, told Mongabay in an interview. “But in reality, and efficiency wise, it&#8217;s obviously more effective to address the more fundamental drivers [of coral loss].” By analyzing reef health data and interviews with 18 stakeholders who have influence over the use and management of Sanur’s reefs, Chung and her colleagues identified complex and competing interests between many different groups, from government agencies, local authorities and community organizations to academics, fishers and tourism operators. “There are differing views on how to preserve coral reefs and the role tourism&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/tourism-has-potential-to-slow-coral-decline-at-bali-travel-hotspot-study/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/tourism-has-potential-to-slow-coral-decline-at-bali-travel-hotspot-study/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-330326</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>How freediving helps Indonesia&#8217;s Bajau preserve traditions and conserve marine life</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/how-freediving-helps-indonesias-bajau-preserve-traditions-and-conserve-marine-life/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/how-freediving-helps-indonesias-bajau-preserve-traditions-and-conserve-marine-life/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 Sep 2026 18:18:52 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Maddy Bolt]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/21115236/Bajau-PELITA-member-Well-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=330277</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Southeast Asia, and West Nusa Tenggara]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Culture, Education, Environment, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Indigenous Peoples, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Traditional Knowledge, and Traditional People]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[POTO TANO, Indonesia — Mahari sits at the front of the boat, cigarette in hand, surveying the conditions of the waters off Poto Tano, a small fishing community on the island of Sumbawa, Indonesia. As ketua, the leader of this group of Bajau octopus fishers, Mahari decides which tool they will use today. He silently [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[POTO TANO, Indonesia — Mahari sits at the front of the boat, cigarette in hand, surveying the conditions of the waters off Poto Tano, a small fishing community on the island of Sumbawa, Indonesia. As ketua, the leader of this group of Bajau octopus fishers, Mahari decides which tool they will use today. He silently surveys the waters while the rest of the group sits back and waits for his cue. The Bajau people are an Indigenous ethnic group spanning Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. Traditionally living mostly on boats, Bajau people have harvested from the sea through traditional freediving for generations. In Sumbawa, a recent ban on dives assisted by an air compressor, a dangerous diving technique that provides the diver with continuous air, means these traditional methods have become more valuable than ever. With the right skills, freediving can be gentler on both the environment and the body than more destructive modern practices. Through expeditions like this one, Mahari and the other fishermen in his community work in cooperation with local NGOs to ensure this knowledge is passed to new generations. Day octopus (Octopus cyanea). Image by © Stergios Vasilis via iNaturalist (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). &#8216;Pocong time&#8217; Depending on current and water visibility, Bajau fishers typically use one of two methods to catch octopus. If there is low visibility or a strong current, they will use a “shell” tool adorned with hooks, which they let go in the water and trail behind their boat. If there is better&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/how-freediving-helps-indonesias-bajau-preserve-traditions-and-conserve-marine-life/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/how-freediving-helps-indonesias-bajau-preserve-traditions-and-conserve-marine-life/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-330277</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>46% of wild-caught fish could be fed to farmed fish and shrimp by 2040, says report</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/45-of-wild-caught-fish-could-be-fed-to-farmed-fish-and-shrimp-by-2040-says-report/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/45-of-wild-caught-fish-could-be-fed-to-farmed-fish-and-shrimp-by-2040-says-report/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 Sep 2026 16:44:11 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Francesco De Augustinis]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Autumn Spanne]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/21135229/Sri-Lanka-fishers1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=330337</guid>

					
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Aquaculture, Environment, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Marine Animals, Natural Resources, Oceans, and Saltwater Fish]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[ROME — Nearly half of the wild-caught fish harvested globally could be used to produce feed for farmed aquaculture products by 2040 if the industry were to grow exponentially in line with a roadmap developed by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), according to a report published Sept. 4. The report was published by [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[ROME — Nearly half of the wild-caught fish harvested globally could be used to produce feed for farmed aquaculture products by 2040 if the industry were to grow exponentially in line with a roadmap developed by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), according to a report published Sept. 4. The report was published by UK-based NGO the Changing Markets Foundation on the eve of the 37th meeting of the Committee on Fisheries (COFI), held Sept. 7–11 at the FAO’s headquarters in Rome. At the biennial intergovernmental meeting, policymakers set the direction for developing the fisheries and aquaculture sectors globally. The publication has intensified debate over support for aquaculture, which involves cultivation of aquatic organisms, including plants, fish and shellfish, in marine or fresh water. Aquaculture is currently the fastest-growing food industry in the world. Since 2022, it has accounted for half of the global seafood supply, but representatives of artisanal fisher organizations attending COFI described it as a “destructive” industry. “What we found is that it really depends on what species are chosen to be farmed,” Tara Ganesh, a senior campaigner at Changing Markets Foundation, told Mongabay in Rome. “Based on that, the impact varies dramatically.” Atlantic salmon aquaculture in Tasmania, Australia. Image by rod cuthbert via Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0). The report, produced together with researchers at the University of British Columbia in Canada, analyzes how the use of wild-caught fish to produce fish feed would change if the aquaculture sector were to reach a “milestone” set out&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/45-of-wild-caught-fish-could-be-fed-to-farmed-fish-and-shrimp-by-2040-says-report/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/45-of-wild-caught-fish-could-be-fed-to-farmed-fish-and-shrimp-by-2040-says-report/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-330337</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>US move to loosen restrictions on fishing could harm vital ecosystems, experts warn</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/us-move-to-loosen-restrictions-on-fishing-could-harm-vital-ecosystems-experts-warn/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/us-move-to-loosen-restrictions-on-fishing-could-harm-vital-ecosystems-experts-warn/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Sep 2026 10:13:57 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jules Struck]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Autumn Spanne]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/17141756/a.-BANNER-2-AP24197590776091-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=330081</guid>

					
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Cetaceans, Conservation, Endangered Species Act, Environmental Policy, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Marine Mammals, Marine Protected Areas, Oceans, Overfishing, Politics, Protected Areas, Saltwater Fish, Whales, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The federal agency that oversees U.S. fisheries released a list of priorities on Sept. 2, advancing the Trump administration’s promise to deregulate the domestic industry. The list of 34 priorities was published by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries, which oversees scientific research, data collection and regulation of commercial fishing operations in [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The federal agency that oversees U.S. fisheries released a list of priorities on Sept. 2, advancing the Trump administration’s promise to deregulate the domestic industry. The list of 34 priorities was published by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries, which oversees scientific research, data collection and regulation of commercial fishing operations in the United States alongside regional and tribal councils. The list outlines the agency’s intention to loosen restrictions on where, when and with what gear fishers are allowed to fish. U.S. fisheries are globally recognized as some of the most heavily-regulated and sustainable in the world. Conservationists say the agency’s new priorities are the latest signal from an administration intent on deregulating and defunding the agency. They warn that deregulation will open the door to overfishing and do lasting harm to ecosystems that support ocean health and sustain fisheries. “If we are reducing regulations and overfishing some really valuable fisheries this year or next year, it may take years for those fisheries to get back on track to healthy [stock] levels,” Reggie Paros, senior director of public affairs at the New York-based NGO Environmental Defense Fund, told Mongabay by phone. “The outcomes we would see on the water would be particularly damaging.” A pile of young Atlantic sea scallops (Placopecten magellanicus) on the deck of the New Bedford, Massachusetts-based fishing vessel Selje, collected during a NOAA survey to help track scallop abundance, distribution, ages, lengths, weights, sex, maturity and disease presence. Image by Catherine Foley/NOAA Fisheries.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/us-move-to-loosen-restrictions-on-fishing-could-harm-vital-ecosystems-experts-warn/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/us-move-to-loosen-restrictions-on-fishing-could-harm-vital-ecosystems-experts-warn/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-330081</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Mekong’s Irrawaddy dolphins find cautious hope amid a river in crisis</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/mekongs-irrawaddy-dolphins-find-cautious-hope-amid-a-river-in-crisis/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/mekongs-irrawaddy-dolphins-find-cautious-hope-amid-a-river-in-crisis/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Sep 2026 20:59:19 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Eung Sea]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/17123401/WWF-Cambodia01-dolphin-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=329840</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, Mekong Basin, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Cetaceans, Conservation, Culture, Dolphins, Ecosystems, Ecotourism, Endangered Species, Environment, Fishing, Freshwater, Illegal Fishing, Mammals, Rivers, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KAMPI, Cambodia — At nine in the morning, the sun beats down on the Mekong River as Heang Koeurn turns off the motor of his boat and bobs on the water. He has done this every morning for 11 years, and he still leans forward the same way when he waits: elbows on his knees, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KAMPI, Cambodia — At nine in the morning, the sun beats down on the Mekong River as Heang Koeurn turns off the motor of his boat and bobs on the water. He has done this every morning for 11 years, and he still leans forward the same way when he waits: elbows on his knees, eyes scanning the water for a gray curve to break the surface. Finally, he spots what he’s looking for: Irrawaddy dolphins, the river’s sole cetaceans. Just meters away, a boat carries about half a dozen foreign tourists who squint and point as, one after another, the dorsal fins of a group of Irrawaddy dolphins (Orcaella brevirostris) crest above the water. “Irrawaddy dolphins are very important for our community,” Koeurn says, drifting his boat slowly on the water. “People here can make more income from tourists by driving them to see the beauty of Irrawaddy dolphins.” But the Mekong River, a lifeline for millions of people across Southeast Asia, is in ecological crisis, threatening the survival of Irrawaddy dolphins — and with it the livelihoods and traditions of communities along the river. Every morning, boat driver Heang Koeurn takes tourists for dolphin sightseeing at Kampi pool. Image by Eung Sea for Mongabay. Habitat in tatters The Mekong River cuts through northern Stung Treng province along Cambodia’s border with Laos, where deep pools shelter unique aquatic species such as the giant freshwater stingray. The Kampi pool, a 60-meter- (nearly 200-feet-) deep stretch of the river in Cambodia’s&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/mekongs-irrawaddy-dolphins-find-cautious-hope-amid-a-river-in-crisis/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/mekongs-irrawaddy-dolphins-find-cautious-hope-amid-a-river-in-crisis/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-329840</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Fishers bear deep costs of plastic pollution in Vietnam, but could help turn the tide</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/fishers-bear-deep-costs-of-plastic-pollution-in-vietnam-but-could-help-turn-the-tide/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/fishers-bear-deep-costs-of-plastic-pollution-in-vietnam-but-could-help-turn-the-tide/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Sep 2026 08:40:27 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Carolyn Cowan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/16081601/Banner-Repairing-fishing-nets-in-coastal-Vietnam.-Image-courtesy-of-3SIP2C-project-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=329844</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Southeast Asia, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Coastal Ecosystems, Environment, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Health, Marine, Oceans, Plastic, Pollution, Solutions, Water, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Plastic bags and bottles, aquaculture feed bags, nylon netting and ropes don’t sound like the makings of a healthy fishing haul. However, nets replete with these items are a near-daily reality for the majority of fishers interviewed by researchers during a recent study in Vietnam. Plastic waste causes small-scale fishers in Vietnam to lose an [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Plastic bags and bottles, aquaculture feed bags, nylon netting and ropes don’t sound like the makings of a healthy fishing haul. However, nets replete with these items are a near-daily reality for the majority of fishers interviewed by researchers during a recent study in Vietnam. Plastic waste causes small-scale fishers in Vietnam to lose an average of $3,421 per vessel, per year, in lost fishing time, reduced catch efficiency and damaged gear, the study assessing the economic impacts of plastic debris on fishing livelihoods found. This represents a 10-25% reduction in the annual income of vessel owners. Fishers interviewed for the study reported that they had significantly increased their fishing efforts in recent years in response to the combined pressures of overexploited fish stocks and plastic pollution. “Before, 6-7 hauls were enough [to turn a profit],” one interviewee told the researchers. “Now it takes 20-25 hauls.” The study also highlights how fishers could play a significant role in solutions tackling the plastic pollution crisis, including through “fishing for litter” programs that pay fishers modest financial incentives to bring back plastic bycatch for disposal and processing on land. “When you see firsthand the sheer volume of [plastic waste] in Southeast Asia, and how it directly impacts people’s lives and livelihoods, it crystallizes very clearly why we need to address this,” study co-author Michel Kaiser, a professor of fisheries conservation at Heriot-Watt University in the U.K., told Mongabay in an interview. “Fundamentally, turning off the source of the plastic is key, but&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/fishers-bear-deep-costs-of-plastic-pollution-in-vietnam-but-could-help-turn-the-tide/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/fishers-bear-deep-costs-of-plastic-pollution-in-vietnam-but-could-help-turn-the-tide/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-329844</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Panama looks to science, fishers, and the law to protect its sharks and rays</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/panama-looks-to-science-fishers-and-the-law-to-protect-its-sharks-and-rays/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/panama-looks-to-science-fishers-and-the-law-to-protect-its-sharks-and-rays/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Sep 2026 11:47:51 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Monica Pelliccia]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/14102837/4-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=329577</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Central America, North America, and Panama]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Bycatch, Certification, Conservation Solutions, Ecosystems, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Illegal Fishing, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Protected Areas, Rays, Sharks, Solutions, Sustainability, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[PUERTO CAIMITO, Panama — It’s a late April morning and the Tabor, an industrial fishing boat, is sailing around Chepillo Island in Panama Bay. Under the eyes of the crew, Yehudi Rodríguez, a marine biologist specializing in sharks, and sailor Joel Cordoba free a large black devil ray from a purse seine net and launch [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[PUERTO CAIMITO, Panama — It’s a late April morning and the Tabor, an industrial fishing boat, is sailing around Chepillo Island in Panama Bay. Under the eyes of the crew, Yehudi Rodríguez, a marine biologist specializing in sharks, and sailor Joel Cordoba free a large black devil ray from a purse seine net and launch it back into the water. As they work with the biologist, the sailors, around a dozen of them, joke among themselves. Tabor is part of the Promarina S.A. fleet, a Panamanian company that produces fish oil and fish meal, authorized to catch only small open-ocean fish, or pelagics, such as sardines and herrings. Every two weeks, Rodríguez, a professor of biology at the University of Panama and director of the Shark Defenders NGO, analyzes bycatch — marine species not targeted but accidentally caught by fishers — freeing sharks, rays, and other animals entangled in the purse seine nets of Promarina vessels. “It’s an emotion to see a huge Mobula for the first time and liberate it in the ocean,” Rodríguez, 49, tells Mongabay after freeing the devil ray, which weighed an estimated 100 kilograms (220 pounds). Just a few hours later, Hermes, 18, the youngest sailor on the crew and nicknamed Mbappé after the French football star, helps Rodríguez liberate another ray, both taking care to avoid being hit by the animal’s venomous barb. Before returning an animal into the water, Rodríguez follows a short protocol:  she records the coordinates of the bycatch location, identifies&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/panama-looks-to-science-fishers-and-the-law-to-protect-its-sharks-and-rays/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/panama-looks-to-science-fishers-and-the-law-to-protect-its-sharks-and-rays/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-329577</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Pacific bluefin tuna will get some help as countries agree to new harvest strategy</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/pacific-bluefin-tuna-will-get-some-help-as-countries-agree-to-new-harvest-strategy/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/pacific-bluefin-tuna-will-get-some-help-as-countries-agree-to-new-harvest-strategy/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Sep 2026 08:59:07 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Francesco De Augustinis]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Autumn Spanne]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/13160625/b.-BANNER-GP01Y3H-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=329570</guid>

					
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Marine Animals, Oceans, Overfishing, Saltwater Fish, and Tuna]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The annual meeting of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) concluded on Sept. 4 with an agreement to adopt a long-term harvest strategy for Pacific bluefin tuna. The agreement aims to ensure sustainable management of this species, which has only recently recovered after decades of overfishing. But the commission fell short of establishing a harvest [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The annual meeting of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) concluded on Sept. 4 with an agreement to adopt a long-term harvest strategy for Pacific bluefin tuna. The agreement aims to ensure sustainable management of this species, which has only recently recovered after decades of overfishing. But the commission fell short of establishing a harvest strategy for other tuna species — bigeye, skipjack and yellowfin — managed under the convention. “A proposal was adopted … and that’s really great progress,” Dave Gershman, a senior officer for international fisheries at the U.S.-based think tank The Pew Charitable Trusts, who took part in the meeting as an observer, told Mongabay. The commission approved the plan for Pacific bluefin tuna (Thunnus orientalis) after 10 years of research and mediation. The plan establishes science-based rules to support the stock&#8217;s complete recovery and long-term protection while taking into account impacts on the broader ecosystem. “You want to have these things in place when times are good so it’s there when you need it,” Gershman said. The 104th meeting of the IATTC took place in Lisbon from Aug. 31 to Sept. 4. One of five main regional fishery management organizations (RFMOs) responsible for tuna and tuna-like species, the commission is tasked with managing six tuna stocks, associated species and their ecosystems throughout the Eastern Pacific Ocean, from Canada south to Chile. There are more than a dozen RFMOs in the world, with some overlapping geographically but managing different fish stocks. The map shows the five best-known&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/pacific-bluefin-tuna-will-get-some-help-as-countries-agree-to-new-harvest-strategy/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/pacific-bluefin-tuna-will-get-some-help-as-countries-agree-to-new-harvest-strategy/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-329570</doi>				</item>
			</channel>
</rss>