Fishing industry

Running a food shop in New York City isn’t easy. Ratha Chaupoly, who came to the US from Cambodia when he was seven, learned to pay attention to details the hard way — as a sea urchin trader in Maine.

In the wake of last March’s tsunami, Japan’s fishing industry was devastated. Towns were wiped from the map, boats and fishing equipment were smashed to pieces. But from the rubble some fishermen have found a new way forward.

Lost and abandoned fishing nets kill untold numbers of sea creatures around the world every year. But there’s a growing global movement to remove what are known as “ghost nets” and prevent new ones.

The southern Pacific is home to someof the last healthy tuna populations, but they’re coming under intense pressure from international fishing fleets. Shannon Service reports from Palau on the tiny country’s efforts to protect its tuna populations from overfishing.

Last year’s tsuanami virtually destroyed many northern Japanese fishing communities. A year later, residents are struggling to rebuild, but as Sam Eaton reports, some are finding that the disaster has given them the opportunity to chart a new course.