Can technological advances help to close the gap between our increasing ability to learn about ocean industry and activity, and the measures needed to enforce rules that govern marine conservation?

Seafood CSI: Advances in Genetic Technology Will Make Us All DNA Detectives

By Kenneth R. Weiss, Hakai Magazine

Genetic identification has become faster, cheaper, and more reliable in recent years, with advances coming so quickly that even enterprising undergraduates can now fashion themselves as DNA detectives. In the not-too-distant future, next-generation sequencing—which allows machines to read millions of gene sequences in one batch—and the promise of a rapid or instant DNA test will transform much of what we know about life in the sea and how fast we can know it.

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Satellite Technologies at the Forefront of the Fight Against Illegal Fishing

By Mona Samari

Located some 4,000 kilometers (2,300 miles) west of Chile, Easter Island’s isolated location coupled with the vast size of its surrounding ocean makes it vulnerable to illegal fishing—a criminal activity taking place on a global scale, fueled in part by the assumption that no one is watching. With the advent of more affordable space-based satellite technologies and their pioneering integration into custom monitoring platforms, there are more eyes than ever on the sea.

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NOAA's Coral Reef Watch Monitors Changes Under the Sea from the Sky

By Kelsey Nowakowski

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Coral Reef Watch (CRW) program is a useful predictive monitoring tool and can help managers gain support for conservation, but the global processes that cause widespread bleaching can’t be ignored. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts that by 2020 mass bleaching will occur on a yearly basis, a trend we’re already beginning to see. 

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Op-Ed: An Enforceable Ocean

By Captain Sid Chakravarty, Sea Shepherd

Will there be a day when the seafood on your plate has been certified as sustainable, toxin-free and exploitation-free and has been tracked from the time it was hooked to the time it is purchased? Will this information be verified by satellites and correlated with reports from an at-sea observer? Will every flag-state inspect the fishing vessels under their jurisdiction for compliance with international regulations? Today these are difficult questions to answer, exposing the vast divide between the principles of the conventions being ratified at the United Nations and the practicality in achieving their goals.

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