The IATTC fisheries management measures have been vetoed by a vote, resulting in an unprecedented unregulated fishery in these waters next year, which seems to strongly justify the criticism by UN Secretary-General Gutierrez that “mankind is waging war on nature”. The outputs of the UN Decade of Ocean Science programme will make a significant contribution to the achievement of marine conservation goals.

China published its first White Paper on Distant Water Fishing Compliance, and announced by the Tristan da Cunha government, 90 percent of the waters around the island chain will become a “no-take zone”.

This issue of Blue Pulse brings together relevant research in the areas of marine protected areas, fisheries management, fisheries subsidies, seafood traceability, climate change and ‘blue carbon’.

The returning of mutual trust and good faith in global governance is in need. Comparing with the slow progress in the negotiation for MPAs in the Southern Ocean, science and policy researches relating to the conservation of Southern Ocean have been fruitful this year.

The statements by national leaders at the UN Biodiversity Summit are an important “stocktaking of political will” in the lead-up to next year’s 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

With the United Nations Biodiversity Summit held last week, discussions on the process of biodiversity conservation are gaining momentum. While the annual meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) is approaching and discussions on the process of establishing marine protected areas in the Antarctic Peninsula are gathering momentum.