There aren’t always more fish in this sea

Global Post 17 December 2013 Turkey’s careless approach to the environment may be striking at one of its most iconic industries. Overfishing, increased pollution and damaging infrastructure projects are threatening the fishing business in Istanbul and around the country. At stake are supplies of natural resources, tens of thousands of local jobs, billions of dollars — and, for Read More…

New project aims to improve environmental management

Eco-Business.com 16 December 2013 A project aiming to strengthen national capacity to develop sound policies relating to natural resources management and environment protection was launched yesterday in Ha Noi. The four-year project will be jointly implemented by the Institute of Strategy and Policy of Natural Resources and Environment under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment Read More…

Kerry pledges $17 million in aid to Vietnam’s Mekong Delta

Tribune-Review 15 December 2013 From an American gunboat decades ago, John Kerry patrolled for communist insurgents on the winding, muddy waters of the Mekong Delta. From those familiar waterways, the top U.S. diplomat confronted a modern enemy on Sunday — climate change. In this remote part of southern Vietnam, rising sea waters, erosion and upstream dam development on the Mekong River Read More…

Fishers particpate in Mekong fish surveys

Millions of people depend on the fisheries of the Mekong River and its tributaries for food and income, and many engage in small-scale artisanal fishing. In order to gather vital information on the status and trends of Mekong fish populations, the Mekong Fish Network is testing a Standard Sampling Program that draws on the participation of fishers themselves. The highly variable abundance and Read More…

Working group on Laos hydropower sustainability launched

Radio Free Asia 9 December 2013 The private sector lending arm of the World Bank says it has teamed up with business groups to ensure that hydropower projects are developed and operated in a sustainable way in Laos, which has come under fire from green groups for building dams with little regard for the environment. Under the new partnership, and over the course of the next year, the Read More…

High hopes for fishing season

The Phnom Penh Post 6 December 2013 The largest fish harvest of the year is approaching, and Phnom Penh’s fish markets are about to get busy. In short, it’s December and so prahok season is upon us. A traditional Cambodian fish paste, prahok is made from fermented Siamese mud carp called trey riel in Khmer. Along the Mekong, fishermen are preparing to fill their nets with the Read More…

Shark conservation top priority as global fishing peaks

Science Network Western Australia 3 December 2013 Western Australian researchers are conducting a global initiative to evaluate the importance of sharks for conservation and economic development, in a bid to slow global declines in shark numbers. Researchers at the University of Western Australia’s Oceans Institute are collecting data for a valuation of shark populations in Australia, Read More…

Fishermen work to reduce albatross deaths

National Geographic 2 December 2013 The albatross and life at sea have been linked for centuries. But the death of an albatross means far more than bad luck for sailors.  It signifies a serious threat to the ecosystem of the world’s oceans – so much so that the organizations that manage fisheries across the globe have established new measures aimed at diminishing the number of Read More…

EU’s fish import ban not harming Cambodia’s export: official

Global Post 27 November 2013 The European Commission's proposed ban on fish imports from Cambodia would cause no harm to the country's fish exports since it has never sold fish to European countries, a Cambodian fisheries chief said Wednesday. "The sanctions, announced by the European Commission on Tuesday, do not affect Cambodia's fish exports at all," Nao Thuok, director-general of the Read More…

Cambodia, Belize and Guinea facing EU bans on fish imports

Deutsche Welle 26 November 2013 The EU Commission has proposed bans on fisheries imports from Cambodia, Belize and Guinea, accusing them of failing to curb illegal fishing. Three other nations have been reprimanded and might face sanctions next year. The EU Commission called on the bloc's 28 governments to ban fisheries imports from Belize, Cambodia and Guinea for failing to address the Read More…