(Seychelles News Agency) - The Seychelles Coast Guard has new powers to fight illegal activity in the island nation's waters after a new law came into force. President Danny Faure assented to the Defence (Amendment) Act last Tuesday after it was approved by the National Assembly.

Nature Seychelles' Chief Executive Dr. Nirmal Shah is one of ten MPA practitioners worldwide who have given their first-hand reports on the impacts of COVID19 and the Financial crisis on marine protected areas. “The future of conservation, I think, will lie in disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, blockchain and cryptocurrencies. These can help us increase efficiency while reducing expenses, as has already happened in commerce and industry. Traditional conservation will need to leapfrog into what we can call ‘e-conservation’, a brave new world but whose foundations are already built. Conservationists will move from being tech consumers to tech drivers and innovators." he says

Read the article here: We must be laser-focused on actions to keep our institutions and work afloat

A study of how many dolphins are caught in tuna fishing nets estimates the mammals may now be at just 13 percent of their numbers prior to 1980. James Cook University’s Dr. Putu Mustika was part of an international group that looked at the bycatch from tuna gillnets (including driftnets) in the Indian Ocean. The group was led by Dr. Charles Anderson of the Manta Marine organization in the Maldives.