Fish Highways Decisions Made Easier in Great Lakes

The Fish Site 30 April 2015 US - Decisions on how best to open up tributaries into the Great Lakes for fish migration have recently been made easier, as researchers have released a tool to help optimise fish habitats at the lowest cost. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Limnology created the first map of all the road crossings and dams blocking the tributary Read More…

Connecting communities for conservation

Deutsche Welle 30 April 2015 Crowd-sourced data can be useful for conservation but how can remote communities with no connectivity get involved? One NGO has an answer. Drones, phones and apps: it's all about the nexus between conservation and technology this week at Global Ideas. Currently, one of the major conservation-meets-new-tech trends is crowd-sourced data but what happens if remote Read More…

Gov. Jerry Brown set to unveil scaled-back delta conservation plan

Los Angeles Times 29 April 2015 Gov. Jerry Brown is expected to announce Thursday that the state is substantially trimming the amount of fish and wildlife habitat it plans to restore in connection with a controversial project to replumb the heart of California's water system. This month, state water officials said they were overhauling a proposal to construct two massive water tunnels Read More…

Nation’s water security threat has reached alarming proportions

VietNamNet Bridge 27 April 2015 Severe, frequent droughts are seriously threatening water security, Truong Dinh Du, formerly with the Viet Nam Institute for Water Resources Development, tells Nong Thon Ngay Nay. Droughts and saline intrusion have become more and more serious and complicated, affecting large areas in the central and southern regions during the past several years, Read More…

The fight against illegal fishing: The EU’s role in a global…

EurActiv.com 27 April 2015 The EU not only has a great responsibility to demonstrate legal and sustainable seafood supply chains to its consumers. It must ensure that its access to abundant seafood does not rob more vulnerable communities, of their own, writes Eszter Hidas. Eszter Hidas is EU Policy Officer for WWF Smart Fishing Initiative’s Illegal Fishing project Combatting illegal Read More…

Yellow card for Thai fisheries

The Star Online 27 April 2015 THE European Union has given Thailand, the world’s third-largest seafood exporter, six months to crack down on illegal fishing or face a trade ban on its fish imports. South Korea and the Philippines though have escaped the commission’s net after bringing in legal reforms and improved control and inspection systems. “The commission has put Thailand on Read More…

Conservation in Myanmar: a cause for optimism?

Monga Bay 24 April, 2015 Home to some of the largest remaining contiguous forests in Southeast Asia, as well as more than 1,700 species of amphibians, birds, mammals and reptiles, Myanmar is well-known as a biodiversity hotspot. In 2014 alone, 26 new species were found in Myanmar, including the peculiar Glyptothorax igniculus, a catfish that uses an unusual flame-shaped suction cup on its Read More…

Introducing a ‘Space Station Safari’ for Conservation

Nature World News 22 April 2015 Experts have some new plans for the International Space Station (ISS), and they have absolutely nothing to do with space, exploration, or even astronauts. A new investigation will be using the uniquely high vantage point of the orbital space station to help track animals in trouble - the results of which could improve conservation strategies around the Read More…

Japanese, South Korean, Chinese companies flocking to Mekong region

Nikkei Asian Review 21 April 2015 TOKYO -- The economic zone in the basin of the Mekong River is starting to thrive as a key location for businesses pursuing so-called "China or Thailand Plus One" strategies. Japanese, Chinese and South Korean companies are flocking to the area to take advantage of inexpensive labor, raising a question of whether they and other foreign companies will leave Read More…

Fishing For War

Politico 20 April 2015 In 2012, Beijing transformed a Soviet-era hulk into its first aircraft carrier, a major step in the country’s military build-up. Now, Chinese officials are confirming they won’t make any more trips to the old aircraft-carrier bazaar but are instead constructing a second naval behemoth themselves—and that more are likely to come. This growing fleet naturally has Read More…