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Fish Have Feelings, Too: The Inner Lives Of Our 'Underwater Cousins'
Scientific American / Farrar, Straus and Giroux

The Salt

Fish Have Feelings, Too: The Inner Lives Of Our 'Underwater Cousins'

Fresh Air

Jonathan Balcombe, author of What A Fish Knows, says that fish have a conscious awareness — or "sentience" — that allows them to experience pain, recognize individual humans and have memory.

Fish Have Feelings, Too: The Inner Lives Of Our 'Underwater Cousins'

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Tiny Forage Fish At Bottom Of Marine Food Web Get New Protections

Peruvian anchoveta being processed at a fish meal factory in Lima in 2009. The small forage species has been heavily fished. Ernesto Benavides/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Ernesto Benavides/AFP/Getty Images

The Salt

Tiny Forage Fish At Bottom Of Marine Food Web Get New Protections

Demand for sardines and other small species has exploded, with many being used as feed for livestock and fish farming. New rules aim to protect these species from overfishing off the U.S. West Coast.

Study: Program To Protect Fish Is Saving Fishermen's Lives, Too

The captain and crew of the Moriah Lee pose with sablefish caught off the coast of Half Moon Bay, Calif. A new study found that fishermen in the West Coast sablefishery were much less likely to engage in risky behavior — like sailing out in stormy weather — after catch share quotas were implemented. Courtesy of Ethan Righter hide caption

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Courtesy of Ethan Righter

The Salt

Study: Program To Protect Fish Is Saving Fishermen's Lives, Too

Catch share programs — where fishermen are allotted a set quota of the catch --reduce the notoriously risky behavior fishermen are known for, like sailing in stormy weather, a new study finds.

LA's Top Restaurant Charts New Waters In Sustainable Seafood

Chef Michael Cimarusti, of Los Angeles' Providence restaurant, is pioneering the West Coast incarnation of Dock to Dish, a program that hooks up local fishermen directly with chefs. Courtesy of Providence hide caption

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Courtesy of Providence

The Salt

LA's Top Restaurant Charts New Waters In Sustainable Seafood

Providence is widely considered the finest restaurant in Los Angeles. Its award-winning chef, Michael Cimarusti, is piloting Dock to Dish, a program that hooks chefs up directly with local fishermen.

LA's Top Restaurant Charts New Waters In Sustainable Seafood

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Entrepreneurs Pitch Sustainable Seafood Ideas; Investors Take The Bait

A traditional fisherman in La Paz, Mexico, who works with SmartFish brings sustainable seafood to market. SmartFish was one of the competitors in last week's Fish 2.0 competition. Courtesy of Smart Fish hide caption

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Courtesy of Smart Fish

The Salt

Entrepreneurs Pitch Sustainable Seafood Ideas; Investors Take The Bait

At Fish 2.0, entrepreneurs get the chance to sell their ideas for modernizing the industry to a roomful of investors and venture capitalists. It's kind of like TV's Shark Tank — for the fish world.

Big Trouble Looms For California Salmon — And For Fishermen

Juvenile Chinook salmon swim in the American River in California. The state's salmon fishery, which revolves around fall-run Chinook, has been estimated to be worth $1.4 billion, with the fish finding their way into markets and restaurants. Courtesy of John Hannon/USBR hide caption

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Courtesy of John Hannon/USBR

The Salt

Big Trouble Looms For California Salmon — And For Fishermen

Thanks to a blazing hot summer and unusually warm water, early counts of juvenile winter-run Chinook are at extreme low levels. To protect them, regulators may restrict ocean fishing.

The Salt

Oceans Called A 'Wild West' Where Lawlessness And Impunity Rule

NPR's Audie Cornish spoke with Ian Urbina, investigative reporter for The New York Times, about his four-part series, The Outlaw Ocean. He says the lack of rules contributes to the ocean's dire state.

Oceans Called A 'Wild West' Where Lawlessness And Impunity Rule

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As Fish Stocks Dwindle, So Do The Livelihoods Of Greek Fishermen

Parisi Tsakirios, 29, mends a net as he prepares for another fishing trip. "I can't imagine doing any other job, because I love the sea," he says. "But there are hardly any fish. I barely break even. I can't support my family." Joanna Kakissis/NPR hide caption

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Joanna Kakissis/NPR

The Salt

As Fish Stocks Dwindle, So Do The Livelihoods Of Greek Fishermen

The Greek fisherman casting a net from his small wooden boat is a postcard image of the Mediterranean. But fish stocks are so low now that many fishermen say they can't make a living anymore.

As Fish Stocks Dwindle, So Do The Livelihoods Of Greek Fishermen

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Why Is This Fisherman Selling Threatened Bluefin Tuna For $2.99 A Pound?

Pacific bluefin tuna for sale for $2.99 per pound at the fish market in San Diego. That shockingly low price does not reflect the deeply threatened state of the bluefin population. Clare Leschin-Hoar for NPR hide caption

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Clare Leschin-Hoar for NPR

The Salt

Why Is This Fisherman Selling Threatened Bluefin Tuna For $2.99 A Pound?

That low price doesn't reflect the true state of Pacific bluefin: Scientists say it's in deep trouble. But fishermen who catch it say they're just trying to make a living — and obeying the law.

Halibut Dumping Stirs Fight Among Fishing Fleets In Alaska

Pacific Halibut caught in Cook's Inlet, Alaska. via Wikimedia hide caption

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via Wikimedia

The Salt

Halibut Dumping Stirs Fight Among Fishing Fleets In Alaska

KCAW

Last year, big fleets in the Bering Sea caught more halibut, by accident, than local fishermen caught on purpose. The big ships throw out that halibut; the local fishermen make their living from it.

Halibut Dumping Stirs Fight Among Fishing Fleets In Alaska

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Cod Comeback: How The North Sea Fishery Bounced Back From The Brink

Fish for sale in the fish market in Fraserburgh, Scotland. Ari Shapiro/NPR hide caption

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Ari Shapiro/NPR

The Salt

Cod Comeback: How The North Sea Fishery Bounced Back From The Brink

A decade ago, fishermen trying to catch North Sea cod were coming up empty. Now, thanks to strict fishing rules put in place to halt the decline, this fish tale looks headed for a happy ending.

Cod Comeback: How The North Sea Fishery Bounced Back From The Brink

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Feds Cancel Commercial Sardine Fishing After Stocks Crash

A tray of sardines in Costa Mesa, California, in this November 17, 2014 photo. Plummeting sardine populations force a complete ban on sardine fishing off the U.S. West Coast for more than a year. LUCY NICHOLSON/Reuters /Landov hide caption

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LUCY NICHOLSON/Reuters /Landov

The Two-Way

Feds Cancel Commercial Sardine Fishing After Stocks Crash

Federal regulators close commercial sardine fishing in an effort to rebuild the depleted populations of the fish. Sardine shortages are blamed for the high rates of starvation deaths of sea lion pups

Dozens Killed In Sinking Of Russian Fishing Trawler

A Russian Emergencies Ministry ship is seen through the window of a helicopter during a rescue operation after the Russian trawler Dalniy Vostok sank off the coast of Kamchatka, in the Sea of Okhotsk, on Thursday. Reuters /Landov hide caption

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Reuters /Landov

The Two-Way

Dozens Killed In Sinking Of Russian Fishing Trawler

The vessel reportedly capsized while bringing in its nets off the Kamchatka Peninsula. Authorities in Moscow have denied reports that it was overloaded.