Today we celebrate World Food Day — the annual event that promotes global awareness and action for those who suffer from hunger and for the need to ensure healthy diets for all. But unique to this year is the coronavirus pandemic, which has created new and extraordinary challenges for the food and nutrition security of our global community. The importance of finding solutions that can feed a growing global population from nutritious and healthy resources has only exponentially increased in both urgency and priority. More than ever, we need to build back better in a way that improves human health, builds resiliency for populations and improves well-being — while simultaneously ensuring the long-term health and sustainability of our oceans. This World Food Day, we’re highlighting the oceans’ ability to feed the planet, sustainably and healthfully. Read More
EDFish
Selected tag(s): climate vulnerability
World Food Day: Utilizing the ocean to feed the planet
Examining Climate Change Vulnerabilities of Marine Species in New England
Sea scallop. Photo credit: Dann Blackwood, USGS
By: Kristin M. Kleisner
Last week at the Maine Fishermen’s Forum, a session entitled “Questioning our Changing Oceans,” sponsored by The Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association, The Environmental Defense Fund, The Island Institute, and The Nature Conservancy, sought to address some of the major issues related to climate change that the fishing industry has been experiencing. The panel included Jake Kritzer (EDF) as well as local scientists Andy Pershing (GMRI) and Jon Hare (NOAA), along with headliners Capt. Keith Coburn of the hit show ‘Deadliest Catch’, Capt. Buddy Guindon of the new breakout hit ‘Big Fish, Texas,’ and fishermen from as far as Western Australia.
The panel highlighted two NOAA studies recently published in PLOS ONE that highlight the vulnerability of marine fish and invertebrate species such as American lobster and scallops on the U.S. Northeast Shelf to the effects of climate change. Both studies illuminate important trends in species adaptation that will help inform future management decisions in the region. Read More