Read the latest
– Lab news and field updates –
Important Shark and Ray Areas designated in the Seychelles
Research by Marine Futures Lab PhD candidate Nico Fassbender has supported the recent designation of 3 Important Shark and Ray Areas (ISRA’s) across Seychelles Inner and Outer Islands.
10th June 2024
Remote seamounts are key conservation priorities for pelagic wildlife
Our Viewpoint published in Conservation Letters highlights the importance of remote features for large pelagic animals and their conservation. Increasing threats and growing recognition of the importance of the natural world have strengthened and necessitated the demand for protection of natural environments globally. The high density of life and residency of pelagic fauna at remote seamounts make these locations prone to anthropogenic destruction but also ideal targets for conservation.
7th June 2024
Highly subsidized industrial fishing fleets in the Indian Ocean jeopardize nutrient security
A few big players in the Indian Ocean are disproportionately accessing the region’s fisheries resources, enabled by harmful subsidies, thereby undermining access to seafood in nutrient-insecure countries.
3rd June 2024
Scientists push WTO to ban fisheries subsidies
15 February 2024
Published in the journal npj Ocean Sustainability, a recent commentary underscores the detrimental impact of harmful fisheries subsidies, jeopardizing the vital role of well-managed wild fisheries in sustaining food security, livelihoods, and cultural heritage. Global fisheries experts and marine biologists urge the World Trade Organisation to address these subsidies at the forthcoming Ministerial Conference.
Dire straits of yellowfin tuna
4 December 2023
Our new publication highlights the dire straits of yellowfin tuna in the Indian Ocean, for the first time using baited remote underwater video systems as a fisheries independent methodology. This has applications to other exploited pelagic wildlife for which stock assessments do not exist.
AMSA 2023 Rottnest Student Workshop
23 June 2023
The 2023 AMSA Student Workshop on Rottnest Island was held from the 21st to the 23rd of June. The workshops were attended by University students pursuing higher degrees, along with guest speakers who specialize in Marine Science. Nico Fassbender and Thomas Tothill have earned 1st and 2nd place, respectively, for the 15-minute presentation award. Congratulations to both of them!
Trends in Indian Ocean marine fisheries since 1950: synthesis of reconstructed catch and effort data
10 June 2023
Indian Ocean marine fisheries catches have been consistently rising since the 1950s, in contrast to declines in all other ocean basins in recent decades. Indian Ocean small-scale catches grew by 300 per cent from 1950 to 2018, reaching 6.5 million tonnes of fish per year in recent years. This is equivalent to almost 3,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools filled with fish.