The U.N. agricultural agency announced Monday that it is partnering with Norway to build an advanced research ship as part of efforts to avert the effects of global warming and other threats to the world's fisheries. The $80 million research vessel "Dr. Fridtjof Nansen" will host seven laboratories to collect data on marine ecosystems, climate change, and pollution to help countries develop sustainable fisheries management, according to a statement from the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO). The research ship will replace an older craft with the same name that has been navigating the coast of Africa since 1993, carrying out research on the continent's marine ecosystems. Also Monday, FAO Director Jose Graziano da Silva opened the Committee on Fisheries in Rome, saying fisheries make a "central contribution to food security and nutrition," and sustainable development in the world's island and coastal areas was especially dependent on the "vitality of oceans and fish stocks." "Overfishing, pollution, and climate change are putting this vitality at risk. The impacts are already evident. And the world's poor, in rural and coastal areas, are among the most affected," the FAO director said.
