Emma Desrochers

Contributing editor reporting from Hawaii, U.S.A.

Emma Desrochers is a freelance journalist based in Waialua, Hawaii, who writes about fisheries and sustainability. She graduated from Yale University in June 2021 with an undergraduate degree in environmental studies and mechanical engineering. She has contributed to the environmental conservation field through internships located in Ecuador, Thailand, and Hawaii.

Published on
April 26, 2023

Global squid fisheries increased their collective fishing effort by 68 percent over the past three years, and 86 percent of that effort has taken place in unregulated areas of the high seas, according to new research.

The rapid increase has many global fisheries experts concerned about overexploitation of squid stocks, the  potential for the expansion of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, and the fate of small-scale fishers

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Published on
April 19, 2023

The new Coalition for Fisheries Transparency has published a framework to create a common language advocates can use to enhance sustainability and transparency efforts across global seafood supply chains. 

The framework, called the Global Charter for Fisheries Transparency, includes ten principles for the coalition to use when promoting seafood traceability and transparency. Members and leaders of the coalition include several

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Published on
April 18, 2023

The Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) partnered with Longline Environment to develop a new map-based tool to identify shrimp farming locations close to mangroves to identify “hot spots” for industry attention so shrimp farming can be a driver for mangrove restoration and protection.

“Mangroves should not be lost to aquaculture or indeed any other purpose as they are a habitat under threat and provide a wide range of

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Published on
April 17, 2023

Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative (GSSI) Executive Director Herman Wisse officially departed the organization on 31 March, 2023, after a decade with the seafood certification group.

Wisse, who said he is leaving the role to spend more time with his family, was instrumental to the formation of GSSI. In 2012 he was asked by a group of industry leaders to develop a project proposal to get GSSI under way, including Ahold Delhaize, Metro Group,

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Published on
April 11, 2023

The newest strategic plan from the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) is keeping Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification as a central tenant as the organization advocates for more sustainable wild-caught seafood. 

The ISSF Strategic Plan for 2023-2027, "Continuously Improving Global Tuna Fishery Sustainability," was released 28 February, 2023. The plan highlights ISSF research, advocacy, and its approach to

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Published on
March 24, 2023

The Global Seafood Alliance (GSA) and the Responsible Fisheries Management (RFM) certification program have agreed to a memorandum of understanding with the goal of reducing certification costs and promoting market options for  certified seafood.

Both entities will remain separate in regards to ownership, communications, and funding. But the agreement will result in a reduction of the number of audits required and number of certification

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Published on
March 21, 2023

Greenpeace USA has given 15 out of 16 of the largest U.S. grocers a failing grade on addressing environmental sustainability and human rights issues in their tuna sourcing.

Its latest report on the subject, “The High Cost of Cheap Tuna,” released in February 2023, gave only Aldi receiving a passing grade. The report was issued as part of a global campaign to protect and conserve tuna stocks by changing consumer attitudes and

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Published on
March 6, 2023

There is a growing awareness across the global seafood industry of the importance of reducing bycatch. But change remains stubbornly hard to come by, according to International Seafood Consulting Group Fisheries Expert Petri Suuronen.

“It is evident that the harsh circumstances and the complex reality faced by commercial fishers often make it a challenging undertaking to adopt bycatch-reduction technologies. That is, the solutions defined

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Published on
February 23, 2023

Pew Charitable Trusts hosted the first global summit on the topic of artificial intelligence (AI) in fisheries monitoring on 17 and 18 January, 2023.

The conference hosted data scientists, analysts, researchers, and policymakers to start the conversation on how AI can improve fisheries management.

The Pew Charitable Trusts International Fisheries Senior Associate Raiana McKinney summarized the three main topics discussed at the summit. The

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Published on
February 16, 2023

The Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, Community Jameel, Monégasque Association for the Protection of Nature (AMPN), and Blue Abacus announced a partnership on 23 January, 2023, to work together to deploy baited remote underwater video systems (BRUVS) for marine research.

BRUVS was developed by Blue Abacus in 2020, and co-founded by University of Western Australia Professor Jessica Meewig, as a way to film and analyze fish populations

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