This episode is part of the National Committee’s U.S.-China HORIZONS series.

Responding to domestic and international demand for seafood, China’s state-owned and private fishing enterprises have amassed the largest fleet of industrial long-distance ships in the world.

Principal Investigator of Fisheries for Ecotrust Canada, Dr. Dyhia Belhabib, breaks down how and where the fleet operates, who it impacts, and what steps must be taken to ensure sustainable and equitable fishing worldwide.

Speaker Bio

Dyhia Belhabib is the principal investigator of fisheries at Ecotrust Canada. She joined Ecotrust Canada in September 2016 as the programme manager for fisheries. Before joining Ecotrust Canada, Dyhia was the lead researcher and engagement focal point for the Sea Around Us Africa at the University of British Columbia (UBC). Her work focuses on fisheries equity, food security, values associated with fishing and social finance. Through her experience on issues such as illegal fishing, unfair fisheries agreements, lack of appropriate fisheries data, climate change and governance, conflicts and natural disasters, Dyhia serves as an advisor for the Sea Around Us, and on the board of the Research Centre of the Ministry of Fisheries of Algeria, and FishTracker.

Dyhia holds a PhD from the University of British Columbia in Resource Management and Environmental Studies, a Master’s in Science from the University of Quebec in Rimouski, and an engineering degree from the Institute of Marine Sciences of Algiers (Algeria).