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Knowledge provided by local non-governmental organizations, academics, civil servants, journalists, and fishers can be valuable for evaluating the effectiveness of countries’ marine protected areas.

A physiological explanation and an evolutionary explanation related to the moment fish become sexually active – and spawn for the first time – have turned out to be two sides of the same coin

Grey whales face many threats ranging from entanglements and ship strikes, to loss of habitat and reduced prey availability. Researchers are collecting data this summer needed to quantify and mitigate these threats.

The animals have been in an energy deficit, averaged across spring, summer and fall, for six of the last 40 years.


Dr. William Cheung & Dr. Rashid Sumaila are off to Portugal for the United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC), being held June 27 to July 1. Will participate in special side event: Fisheries Management as Climate Action, on June 26.

An international team led by UBC researchers will study five case studies across five continents to model a range of solutions to an urgent question: how can we feed everyone on Earth, and those to come, sustainably?

Stirling works with six Lower Fraser First Nations for her project, which investigates how single-celled algae may be linked to salmon abundance. Although Indigenous Peoples are increasingly working collectively to solve environmental problems that affect Earth’s oceans, challenges remain when it comes to collaborating with the Canadian government, she says.

Any international effort to end plastic pollution must also contend with wealth disparities between nations, according to Dr. Alava. “In some developing countries, the reality is that people survive on plastic garbage."

In order for fishers, companies, governments, NGOs, and other interested groups to act collectively for the good of Earth’s oceans, a baseline level of trust needs to be established, De la Puente said. “Most stakeholder groups have a history of being at odds with each other.”