The coastline is never too far in Jamaica, no matter where you are. But there is a fierce battle playing out over access to the island nation’s beaches, pitting new developers against local fisherpeople who rely on the ocean for their livelihood. And all of this is made worse by natural disasters and other effects of climate change that are rapidly reshaping the landscape itself. The reporting team meets with two local activists who are trying to hold onto the beach before it’s gone.

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Jamaica has become a major vacation destination, selling an image of pristine waters and untouched beaches. But the demands of tourism often go against the needs of the local ecosystem. To better understand how natural and human factors are impacting Jamaica’s reefs, host Ruxandra Guidi talks with Chauntelle Parkins, the chief scientist at the Port Royal Marine Laboratory. Then, a hotel worker-turned-activist shares his experience fighting for a better future.

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On Season 7 of The Catch, host Rux Guidi and her reporting team head to Jamaica to see firsthand how the country is rebuilding from Hurricane Melissa with natural tools that promote coastal resilience. First, the team talks to artisanal fisher Michael Henry in Port Royal about the changes he’s seeing in the harbor. Then museum director Jonathan Greenland shares more about Port Royal and Jamaica's seafaring history.

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On Season 7 of The Catch, host Rux Guidi and her reporting team head to Jamaica to see firsthand how the country is rebuilding from Hurricane Melissa with natural tools that promote coastal resilience. These nature-based solutions, such as seagrass and mangroves, routinely support better outcomes after severe storms, particularly as Jamaica, and other coastal communities around the world, face increasingly volatile hurricane seasons.

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On our final episode of this season of The Catch, host Ruxandra Guidi and the reporting team head once again to the local fish market to hear directly from sellers on the challenges they face. Rux then sits down with regional expert and former U.S. official Kathryn Paik, now at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, to hear about Chinese investment in the region that’s driving development in the Solomon Islands.

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On this episode of The Catch, Rux and the reporting team head to the island of Tetepare, in the western Solomons, to speak to park rangers tasked with protecting local marine life. Much of their work on the island is focused on combating poachers, with insufficient support from the government. Despite these challenges, as one ranger put it, “we still continue to survive.”

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There’s good news for the ocean coming out of the United Nations’ annual meetings in New York: 60 countries ratified the High Seas Treaty, meaning the landmark agreement can now be implemented. The Catch reporting team was on the ground in Nice, France, this summer to observe the latest diplomatic push. 

Then, we head back to the Solomon Islands, where host Ruxandra Guidi hears firsthand from observers on the dangers they face at sea.

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Host Ruxandra Guidi and the reporting team meet with descendants of climate refugees who arrived in the Solomon Islands in the 1960s from the atolls of Kiribati. This community, like many others across the Solomon Islands, continues to grapple with climate-fueled changes today. According to Alec Hughes, a coastal and marine management expert based in Munda, Solomon Islanders are witnessing changes in their local environment, and fish stocks that make it clear "that there’s a lot more fishers out there and there’s a lot of demand for fish.” Munda tribal chief John Pina shares Hughes’s concern as he notes that he, too, is observing a shift away from the cultural norms and traditional practices that have shaped his community for centuries.

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Host Ruxandra Guidi and the reporting team head to the island of Munda to join local fisher Tingo Leve as he fishes for skipjack tuna. The team then hears about the landmark Nauru Agreement, whose signatories control a big portion of the world’s tuna supply. Finally, the reporting team is joined by Adrian Wickham of SolTuna, the Solomon Islands’ top cannery.

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To kick off Season 6 of The Catch, host Ruxandra Guidi and her reporting team head to the Solomon Islands to hear about this Pacific island nation’s deep connection to the ocean. First, the team heads to Honiara’s fish market to hear firsthand from local fishers, processors, and sellers. Then they head to the Solomon Islands National Museum to speak with one of the museum’s archaeologists, Ruben Sangegeo, on the cultural and historical significance of fishing for these islands.

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