The Fishery status reports 2009, released last week, shows a substantial improvement in the number of Commonwealth-managed stocks classified as “not overfished” and “not subject to overfishing”, with only 15 species still at risk. The seven stocks that are both overfished and subject to overfishing are: blue warehou, gulper sharks and school shark in the Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery, sandfish in the Torres Strait Sea Cucumber Fishery, bigeye tuna in the Eastern Tuna and... ...Read more »

Global fisheries, a vital source of food and revenue throughout the world, contribute between US$225-$240 billion per year to the worldwide economy, according to four new studies released today. Researchers also concluded that healthier fisheries could have prevented malnourishment in nearly 20 million people in poorer countries. This first comprehensive, peer-reviewed estimate of the global economic contribution of fisheries was published online today in four papers as part of a special issue of... ...Read more »

Author, journalist and science writer Julian Cribb has created a sobering text in The Coming Famine: The global food crisis and what we can do to avoid it, from CSIRO Publishing. Cribb’s view of the global food crisis paints a frightening picture: demand for food slowly outstripping supply, food production and urbanisation draining the world’s fresh water resources, food products siphoned for biofuel, developing markets with a taste for more exotic, protein-rich and plentiful dinner fare,... ...Read more »

The European Commission today proposed that the European Union should press for a ban on international trade in Atlantic bluefin tuna, to enter into force within the next year. European Environment Commissioner Janez Potočnik said, “We have a responsibility to future generations to take decisive action when faced with the likelihood that a species will disappear forever. We have the duty to preserve our natural capital. Since there is a high risk that Atlantic bluefin tuna will soon be gone... ...Read more »

ALDI’s new Ocean Rise White Tuna, released last week, is the first brand of canned tuna in Australia awarded the Marine Stewardship Council’s MSC Ecolabel.  The sustainable Pacific Albacore tuna is a white-meat tuna, with a mild taste. The MSC ecolabel certifies sustainably fished ocean products, including fish and seafood. MSC certified fishing must be sustainable for the fish population, limit unintentional capture of other species in the fishing process, and conform to a Code of... ...Read more »