The Esri Ocean GIS Forum showcased a broad array of ocean research, all of which used Geographic Information Systems (GIS), or computer mapping, for spatial analyses and public distribution.

Competition from foreign fishing boats, underdeveloped infrastructure, and destructive fishing practices threaten the sustainability of Somali fisheries.

Hundreds of Somali fishers, entrepreneurs, investors, and policy makers gathered in Puntland recently to promote sustainable development of the Somali fishery sector.

With the longest coastline in Africa, Somalia has the potential to support a productive fishing sector.  

Assimilating data from 30 countries in sub-Saharan Africa over nine issue areas, the Index brings together diverse challenges like piracy, smuggling, and capacity-building in one comprehensive analysis to better understand how these issues intersect to affect maritime security.

Kaija Hurlburt, Director of Secure Fisheries, spoke to a workshop at the Stimson Center about the intersection of IUU fishing and national security concerns as they operate in Somali waters.

Panelists discussed the need for ice makers and cold chain equipment, the lack of scientific data to inform fisheries stock assessments, and the importance of training a new generation of fishers.

One Earth Future, through its programs OEF Research, Oceans Beyond Piracy, and Secure Fisheries, presents a unique effort to measure and map intersecting issue areas in maritime security in sub-Saharan Africa.

“Strong fisheries management is the key to future sustainability of wild fish stocks, but only thirty-six percent of the ocean is within a single country’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and ten percent of the ocean falls within fragile or failed states,” Mazurek said.

That’s the conclusion of a panel of experts who gathered at the 2017 annual meeting of the American Fisheries Society in Tampa, Florida last week.

In July Secure Fisheries attended the Indian Ocean Commission's Regional Fisheries Surveillance Plan meeting, where Robert Mazurek gave a presentation on Secure Fisheries' current efforts combatting IUU fishing in the Western Indian Ocean.

OEF’s Research program, in cooperation with IPI, facilitated the event, which addressed challenges and solutions for methods to measure peace.

The Stable Seas Maritime Security Index is a first-of-its-kind effort to measure and map interconnected challenges to maritime security, such as illegal fishing, human trafficking, and illicit trade.

Today the world observes International Day of Family Remittances (IDFR), a day to focus attention on the significant financial contributions refugees, immigrants, migrant workers, and diaspora populations make to family members who remain in fragile states around the world.

Director Kaija Hurlburt and Senior Program Manager Robert Mazurek attended the second meeting of the Safe Ocean Network, to discuss efforts to combat IUU fishing.