Credit: Mark Schrope
By: Aubrey Taylor
Tropical Storm Oscar crept up from the North Atlantic Ocean at a leisurely 40 miles per hour on the morning of Oct. 19, 2024 and ambled toward the Turks and Caicos Islands. Based on the data available, meteorologists believed the tiny storm was unlikely to cause major damage. Yet only three hours later, Oscar’s wind speeds had somehow doubled to a destructive 80 miles per hour—and the tropical storm was now, undeniably, a Category 1 Hurricane. Read More
Fishers setting the blue swimming crab net in the sustainable fishing zone of Way Kambas MPA. Credit: Wahyu Mulyono/ EDF
By: M. Khazali, Andi Yasser Fauzan, and Meutia Isty Wulandari
The Government of Indonesia has committed to protect its marine ecosystems, pledging to establish 32.5 million hectares of marine protected areas (MPAs) by 2030. This commitment supports the 30×30 target of the Global Biodiversity Framework, which aims to protect 30% of the world’s marine areas by 2030. To date, the country has made significant efforts by establishing 29.28 million hectares of MPA (Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, 2024). These MPAs serve as sanctuaries focused on conserving marine biodiversity such as coral reefs, sea grass, and mangroves. Read More
Photo credit: Harrison Hughes
By Ann M. Albury, Sepp Haukebo, and Carlito Turner
The cerulean blue waters of The Bahamas are world renowned for their expansive saltwater fishing flats. These flats—shallow, sand or seagrass covered nearshore areas—are the ideal habitat for stalking prized fly fishing species, including bonefish, tarpon, permit, cobia, and snook.
The Head of Pokmaswas Jaya Bahari Abadi (right) receives the award from the Indonesian Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (center, light blue shirt), alongside the Head of the Lampung Marine and Fisheries Agency (left).
By: Meutia Isty Wulandari
The “Jaya Bahari Abadi” Community Surveillance Group (Kelompok Masyarakat Pengawas/Pokmaswas) has won third place in the 2024 Adibakti Mina Bahari Award. This prestigious award is given by the Indonesian’s Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries to stakeholders who have demonstrated outstanding achievements in the marine and fisheries sector. The award was presented on Friday, September 26 by the Minister to the head of Pokmaswas Jaya Bahari Abadi in front of 10,000 attendees.
Way Kambas Fisheries Reserve in the east coast of Lampung Province, Indonesia. Credit: Meutia I. Wulandari/EDF
By: Abdul Halim1, Amehr Hakim2, Gemma Carroll3, and Annie Mark4
In just a few weeks, on October 21st, 2024, delegations from 196 countries party to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) will come together for its 16th Conference of Parties (COP16) in Cali, Colombia, to review progress, set priorities and commit to new workplans to tackle biodiversity loss and safeguard nature and the well-being of people around the world. Read More
By: Fenjie Chen and Shems Jud
A ground-breaking shift in Japan’s fisheries management is happening. It is aiming to restore fish stocks and recover harvests to achieve sustainable management and utilization. But many fishers have been unaware of how these reforms impact their daily operation. They have limited understanding of how they can contribute to the reform process and, therefore, have shown resistance and delays in reform implementation. Environmental Defense Fund staff worked directly with fishers to find out why. Read More
