The Catch

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S5 Part II: The Arrival of the Fishmeal Plants Feb 26, 2025

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Gambians eat an estimated 55 pounds of fish a year, the most fish consumed per person in the region. This trend is shifting, though, with the arrival of the fishmeal plants, which directly affect these communities' food security. And as local activist Lamin Jassey points out, the fishmeal plant companies "never asked [the community], they never asked the young people" whether they wanted these plants in the first place.

Join host Ruxandra Guidi as she continues her look at the fishmeal industry in West Africa and hears directly from community leaders on how they're advocating for change.

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S5 Part I: A Legacy of Colonialism Feb 19, 2025

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Small pelagic fish off the West African coast are being scooped up in large numbers and ground into a product called fishmeal. This fishmeal is then used to support animal production and aquafarms around the world.

How is this industry impacting local fishers? And what does this mean for the global supply chain? Host Ruxandra Guidi partners with Gambian reporter Mustapha Manneh to look at fishmeal production in both the Gambia and Senegal for Season 5 of The Catch. Other voices in this episode include Sally Yozell, Senior Fellow and Director of the Environmental Security program at the Stimson Center and Dr. Ensa Touray, a historian at the University of The Gambia.

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Season 5 of The Catch Coming Soon Feb 12, 2025

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Coming up on Season 5 of The Catch, host Ruxandra Guidi reports from the Gambia and Senegal to hear firsthand how the fishmeal plants are impacting these communities and whether the industry, which underpins much of aquaculture, can be turned sustainable for all. Follow and listen to The Catch wherever you get your podcasts.

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Bonus: Live from UNGA Marine Protected Areas Oct 02, 2024

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This past week, Foreign Policy magazine hosted a live taping on Marine Protected Areas at the United Nations General Assembly. This discussion was moderated by Matt Rand, Senior Director of Marine Habitat Protection at the Pew Charitable Trusts.

Joining Matt on the stage was: Monica Medina, the former Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs. She’s currently a distinguished fellow at Conservation International.

Joel Johnson is the President and CEO of the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation.

Editrudith Lukanga is the Founder of EMEDO, an organization that supports small-scale fisheries in Tanzania and she currently leads the Secretariat of the African Women Fish-workers Network.

And Jim Leape is the Co-Director and William and Eva Price Senior Fellow at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford University.

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S4 Maine Part II: What's Crab Got to Do With It? Sep 25, 2024

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Reporter Caroline Losneck joins The Catch once again to share with host Ruxandra Guidi how Maine's iconic lobster fishing is adapting to new arrivals.

First, Losneck explores how green crabs, an invasive species, are being turned into a delicacy by the local culinary scene. And then, she visits a new training program that's helping to change the face of the fishing industry.

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S4 Maine Part I: A Lobster Tale Sep 18, 2024

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Maine based reporter Caroline Losneck reports on how the state's iconic lobster industry is changing due to forces like climate change, a changing labor market, and damage to fishing areas. Caroline shares with host Ruxandra Guidi how local fishers are adapting by finding new sources of income and how communities as a whole are banding together to provide more resources to protect the industry.

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S4 Indonesia: Fishers Contend with Sand Dredging Sep 11, 2024

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This week, Bali-based reporter Febriana Firdaus explores how Indonesia has been affected by environmental damage from land reclamation projects put in place to bolster the country's tourism industry. Land is a premium for this country of 17-thousand islands. And so the country is expanding its buildable land by dumping sand into the water, negatively impacting the small scale fisheries who live and work nearby. Firdaus tells host Ruxandra Guidi how these projects are hurting fishers both in Bali where the sand is dumped and in far away Lombok, where the sand is mined.

The Catch is going LIVE in New York City later this month.

Come be a part of our live audience on September 26th at 4:30 pm at Rockefeller Center's Studio Gather to hear from experts and fishers on how protecting our oceans can benefit everyone. Click the link here to reserve your seat for this special event. Space is limited.

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S4 South Africa: Tensions with Marine Protected Areas Sep 04, 2024

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For today’s episode we head to South Africa’s southern coast, where journalist Rasmus Bitsch saw firsthand the tension between local populations and environmentalists over plans to expand designated marine protected areas. The country is moving forward to implement the United Nations’ 30 by 30 goals, which seek to protect 30 percent of the world’s oceans by the year 2030.

While environmentalists contend that this will actually help increase fishing stocks, many local fishers and others are skeptical of government plans because of the country’s history of apartheid and forced removal of locals from their land.

Bitsch relays to host Ruxandra Guidi what he heard from both sides on what it will take to build trust and protect both marine habitats and local livelihoods.

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S4: Galapagos Part II: Finding Balance Aug 28, 2024

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Quito-based reporter Carolina Loza León continues her reporting from the Galápagos Islands. We hear how some fishers, frustrated by decreased yields and the dangers of harvesting sea cucumbers, have turned to tourism to make ends meet.

Elsewhere, efforts are being made to connect and engage fishers and scientists in a dialogue, in the form of a quota system. Its aim is to protect this fragile ecosystem and could be a model for cooperation elsewhere in Ecuador.

SHOW NOTES: If you’re a fisher, we want to hear from you! The Catch is hosting a live podcast taping at the United Nations General Assembly, and we’re looking for a fisher who has experience with marine protected areas and is either based in New York or can be in New York in September. Please reach out to us at podcasts@foreignpolicy.com.

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S4 Galapagos Part I: Sea Cucumber Fever Aug 21, 2024

Show notes

This season we kick things off off in Ecuador, where reporter Carolina Loza León heads to the famed Galápagos Islands to hear how a sea cucumber boom shaped the economy and current conservation efforts.

SHOW NOTES:

If you’re a fisher, we want to hear from you! The Catch is hosting a live podcast taping at the United Nations General Assembly, and we’re looking for a fisher who has experience with marine protected areas and is either based in New York or can be in New York in September.

Please reach out to us at podcasts@foreignpolicy.com.

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