Veronika Wild

-Image by Copilot   There are in fact quite a few empty chairs around our dinner table of late. Youngest son has gone to work in Queensland. Two of the older granddaughters have just gone to Melbourne to study.  We knew this was going to happen. My daughter was looking forward to less squabbles about whose turn it was to take out the recycling or stack the dishwasher, less noise, a bit of space in the bathroom and less chauffeuring. But the house is so quiet. There’s not much excited chatter around the dinner table, no one needing a costume for tomorrow, no music blaring from bedrooms. Freedom is a strange thing. I felt the same when my daughter left for college, when my oldest son moved in with his girlfriend and when my big sister left for   work in New Guinea. I wonder how the youngest granddaughter is taking it? An only child at last. No more nagging and bullying by big sisters, and yet...Who is there to play cards with or watch a silly movie? She won't be far beh...

-Image is AI generated by Microsoft Copilot The ocean doesn’t respect borders, politics, or loyalties   - neither do a lot of fishermen, it seems. Thank you to those who do. The Ocean's job is to move heat, carbon, nutrients, and life across entire hemispheres, well beyond the jurisdiction of any one country. The first part of this post is about how countries manage declining fish stocks and avoid conflicts.  The second part is about ways in which we can help.  1.      Managing Fish Stocks The Role of National Governments National governments generally set overall fisheries laws, quotas, reporting requirements, and conservation frameworks, while in Australia at least, State governments manage inshore fisheries, licensing, local closures, and compliance. Both levels of government are increasingly having to intervene due to climate ‑ driven stock collapses — including emergency closures and orderly licence buyouts. Only a few weeks ago, Ta...