Community key to fighting climate-change

VietnamNet Bridge 26 December 2014 Integration of climate-change adaption strategies into policy development, especially at the community level, is needed to cope with weather changes in Viet Nam's coastal areas, speakers urged at a workshop held in Can Gio last week. Community and ecosystem-based solutions are badly needed as well, according to participants. More than 70 delegates from Read More…

Seafood exports reach $7.9b in 2014

VietnamNet 25 December 2014 Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) general secretary Nguyen Hoai Nam said the world market had seen a recovery, and sales of seafood products has risen more than other types of food. Meanwhile, Viet Nam maintained stable and high quality seafood supplies, as the nation was estimated to gain a year-on-year increase of 18 per cent in Read More…

Supertrawlers to be banned permanently from Australian waters

The Guardian 24 December 2014 Supertrawlers will be permanently banned from Australian waters, the federal government announced on Wednesday. The move follows the temporary bans on supertrawlers imposed by the Labor government two years ago and re-endorsed by Tony Abbott in March. The first ban expired in November and the second was up for review in April. The parliamentary secretary Read More…

From Vietnam with love: local caviar aims to make a splash

Thanh Nien News 23 December 2014 At a sturgeon farm on a pristine lake near southern Dalat town, a worker hoists a large white fish out off the water. "It's an albino," says Vietnam's eccentric 'Caviar King' Le Anh Duc adding triumphantly, "Gold eggs!" Not only are the eggs from the rare sturgeon -- Duc has just 40 albinos out of half a million fish -- an off-white 'gold' color but they are Read More…

Proposal to set up environment court

The Nation 19 December 2014 The National Reform Council (NRC) has proposed to the Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) the setting up of the country's first environmental court, saying it would help speed up cases and help tackle environmental issues. Bantoon Setthasiroj, from the NRC committee on natural resources and environment reform, said the plan to establish the "special court" was Read More…

Dak Lak: camphor trees receive national heritage status

VietnamNet 18 December 2014 Two Long nao trees, scientifically known as Cinnamomum Camphora, at Bao Dai Palace in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak officially received the Vietnam Heritage Tree title at a ceremony on December 17. The two trees, 2.5m in diameter and nearly 30m in height, were recognised by the Vietnam Association for Conservation of Nature and Environment (VACNE) Read More…

White House task force launches rule to curb pirate fishing

Washington Post 16 December 2014 A presidential task force will propose more than a dozen steps Tuesday aimed at curbing pirate fishing and the sale of falsely-labeled seafood, according to administration officials. The recommendations of the task force, which was established in June, include established the first-ever national traceability program to track seafood from point of harvest Read More…

To save animals, we must work with their culture

New Scientist 15 December 2014 For the first time, a global treaty has recognised non-human culture. Now we must rethink how we preserve key species SOMETHING momentous happened in conservation circles last month in Ecuador. At the UN Convention on Migratory Species conference, a resolution was passed recognising that some social mammals have culture. Sure, the idea of non-human culture Read More…

Warming Waters Could Shift Salmon, Other Species on West Coast

Slate.com 12 December 2014 Fights over salmon have raged for decades in the Pacific Northwest. Overfishing in the late 19th century, the proliferation of dams in Oregon and Washington in the 20th, and more recent ecological shifts have set tribes, conservationists and the fishing industry head to head over the diminishing resource. By the end of the 21st century, though, there may be Read More…

There Aren’t Plenty of Fish in the Sea

Slate.com 5 December 2014 Early last year, a study by the international ocean conservation organization Oceana made waves by reporting that one-third of all seafood sold in the United States was mislabeled, according to DNA testing. Consumers were understandably upset to learn that their wild red snapper could be cheap, farmed tilapia or that their wild salmon was actually raised in a Read More…