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There has been increasing attention to and investment in local environmental stewardship in conservation and environmental management policies and programs globally. Yet environmental stewardship has not received adequate conceptual attention. Establishing a clear definition and comprehensive analytical framework could strengthen our ability to understand the factors that lead to the success or failure of environmental stewardship in different contexts and how to most effectively support and enable local efforts. Here we propose such a definition and framework. First, we define local environmental stewardship as the actions taken by individuals, groups or networks of actors, with various motivations and levels of capacity, to protect, care for or responsibly use the environment in pursuit of environmental and/or social outcomes in diverse social–ecological contexts. Next, drawing from a review of the environmental stewardship, management and governance literatures, we unpack the elements of this definition to develop an analytical framework that can facilitate research on local environmental stewardship. Finally, we discuss potential interventions and leverage points for promoting or supporting local stewardship and future applications of the framework to guide descriptive, evaluative, prescriptive or systematic analysis of environmental stewardship. Further application of this framework in diverse environmental and social contexts is recommended to refine the elements and develop insights that will guide and improve the outcomes of environmental stewardship initiatives and investments. Ultimately, our aim is to raise the profile of environmental stewardship as a valuable and holistic concept for guiding productive and sustained relationships with the environment.

By doing a better job of tracing seafood from boat to plate and providing consumers with accurate information, the Canadian government can help ensure the choices we make are healthier for ourselves and our oceans.

Earlier this year, Oceana Canada and Fisheries and Oceans Canada set sail to explore never-before-seen parts of the Gulf of St. Lawrence in the most in-depth visual exploration of the area and its seafloors in Canada’s history. Watch the exclusive expedition film on Oceana Canada’s website now!

Ex-vessel fish prices are essential for comprehensive fisheries management and socioeconomic analyses for fisheries science. In this paper, we reconstructed a global ex-vessel price database with the following areas of improvement: (1) compiling reported prices explicitly listed as “for reduction to fishmeal and fish oil” to estimate prices separately for catches destined for fishmeal and fish oil production, and other non-direct human consumption purposes; (2) including 95% confidence limit estimates for each price estimation; and (3) increasing the number of input data and the number of price estimates to match the reconstructed Sea Around Us catch database. Our primary focus was to address this first area of improvement as ex-vessel prices for catches destined for non-direct human consumption purposes were substantially overestimated, notably in countries with large reduction fisheries. For example in Peru, 2010 landed values were estimated as 3.8 billion real 2010 USD when using separate prices for reduction fisheries, compared with 5.8 billion using previous methods with only one price for all end-products. This update of the price database has significant global and country-specific impacts on fisheries price and landed value trends over time.

OCEANCANADA NEWS​

OceanCanada Director Wins 2017 Volvo Environment Prize​

Congratulations to Rashid Sumaila, who has won the 2017 Volvo Environment Prize for his research in fisheries economics and marine governance. The prize recognizes outstanding scientific discoveries and innovations within the environmental field. Professor Sumaila will formally receive the award at a ceremony in Stockholm on November 29, 2017. A video chronicling his achievements will be released on that date.

A report released today from Oceana Canada, Mystery Fish: Seafood Fraud in Canada and How to Stop It, addresses the issue of seafood fraud—including the motives behind it and the consequences to our health, wallets and oceans—as well as concrete recommendations for the Canadian government.

Professor Rashid Sumaila is one of the world’s most innovative researchers on the future of the oceans, integrating the social and economic dimensions with ecology, law, fisheries science and traditional knowledge to build novel pathways towards sustainable fisheries. His work has challenged today’s approaches to marine governance and generated exciting new ways of thinking about our relationship to the marine biosphere, such as protecting the high seas as a ‘fish bank’ for the world and using ‘intergeneration discount rates’ for natural resource projects.

SSHRC-funded research film featured at world’s largest Indigenous film festival​

Glwa: Resurgence of the Ocean-Going Canoe, a documentary film coproduced by the Heiltsuk Nation’s Tribal Council and The University of Winnipeg, was screened this October at the ImagineNATIVE Film and Media Arts Festival in Toronto.

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CCRN Director, Dr. Anthony Charles, was one of four university professors from across Canada invited to provide advice to Fisheries & Oceans Minister LeBlanc and Environment Minister McKenna concerning Canada’s ocean priorities, and international leadership on oceans. The Marine Experts Roundtable took place onboard the ship Polar Prince, in Victoria on October 28th, at the end of the massive C3 Expedition around Canada.