Indonesia and Tuna

Last month, the Indonesian Fisheries Ministry pledged to cut tuna harvests by 10% and is pushing for sustainable certification. More recently, Indonesia has also started developing aquaculture to reduce the pressures on its tuna fisheries. Is the world's largest tuna catcher finally playing the right 'tuna'? More importantly, knowing the environmental downsides that aquaculture comes with, will Indonesia be able to pull this off sustainably?

Cartoon for DW Environment.

Phoenix Island Protected Area

Kiribati, Phoenix Island Protected Area and China. Cartoon from my column with The Hindu.

Nurdle Pollution

The Sri Lankan coastline has been ravaged by nurdle pollution after the vessel MV Xpress Pearl had afire accident, resulting in the death of thousands of marine animals, and likely to start showing its impacts on human health soon. Sri Lankan marine biologist Asha De Vos and her organization Oceanswell.org are tackling the problem through their 'Nurdle Tracker', where volunteers can upload data on nurdles which will help cleaning efforts. Comic from my column with Sunday Mid-Day.

Tuna Species of the World

Among the world's most loved, exploited and threatened fish, and the backbone of fisheries and marine economies worldwide: Tuna. As #WorldFisheriesDay approaches, know your #Tuna species in this new #GreenHumour compilation, featuring 16 of the known Tuna species from around the world.

Posters and merchandise out on my webstore here.

World Albatross Day

On albatrosses and longline fishing from my column with Roundglass Sustain. Hundreds of albatrosses and other sea birds get caught as longline bycatch every year. In recent years, better cooperation between conservation organizations and fishermen has resulted in reduced mortality, by the application of simple measures like streamer lines.

The cartoon is also a small tribute to my favourite poem, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, which I have always interpreted as an exploration of the relationship between man and the forces of nature.

Tuna and Shearwater Symbiosis

In a recent collaboration with marine biologists working with the Save Our Seas Foundation in The Seychelles, I converted some of their scientific studies into comics, for the Save Our Seas Magazine. Here's a comic that speaks about the friendship between Tuna and seabirds like the Wedge-tailed Shearwater, and how fisheries affect this fragile relationship (based on scientist Danielle van den Heever's research). Copyrights: Save our Seas Foundation.