Francisco Blaha
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franciscoblaha.bsky.social
Francisco Blaha
@franciscoblaha.bsky.social
“We have two choices: to abandon hope and ensure that the worst will happen, or to use the opportunities that exist and contribute to a better world. It is not a very difficult choice.”
Noam Chomsky
Fisheries, bicycles,music
http://www.franciscoblaha.info
More extreme weather events are among the expected impacts of climate change, this study shows that the reported number of excess deaths (how many more deaths occurred than would otherwise be expected) because of rainfall and flooding is a considerable undercount

www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Official statistics are vastly undercounting deaths from extreme weather
Research reveals that many more people lose their lives because of the effects of rainfall and flooding than are routinely accounted for.
www.nature.com
November 25, 2025 at 5:13 PM
Chris Bishop does not have to roll Luxon… he just need to wait…. Luxon self sabotage on daily basis www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...
Chris Bishop says he's not plotting to roll Christopher Luxon
He's not the only MP who has been asked about a leadership challenge.
www.rnz.co.nz
November 25, 2025 at 5:08 PM
Needing this one in vinyl... if anyone knows where to find it (or even if exists!)
Thank you
mungoshifi.bandcamp.com/track/bike-r...
Bike Rider (Mungo’s Hi Fi ft Pupajim), by Mungo's Hi Fi
from the album Distilled
mungoshifi.bandcamp.com
November 25, 2025 at 4:16 AM
Some of my words and images in this open article by the Financial Times in London… for the last few years I have been working more on the labour side of fisheries, yet as former migrant fisherman myself I hardly get invited to contribute. I appreciate the opportunity

ig.ft.com/supermarket-...
The dark truth behind supermarket tuna
Major retailers are selling tuna from fisheries where crews say they are exploited and abused
ig.ft.com
November 22, 2025 at 5:41 PM
Reposted by Francisco Blaha
Maximum 6 metre tinny fishing between Autumn and Winter only targeting kāhawai, grey mullet and trevally, selling to local markets vs a $100K plus Surtees stacked with $1000+ rods and reels targeting snapper and kingfish.

Fish for the people eh.
November 22, 2025 at 4:59 AM
Reposted by Francisco Blaha
If we are serious about prioritising feeding New Zealanders, but only 12% of the pop are recreational fishers, while 72% of consumers purchase commercially caught fish at least once a month, why would we lock species up for a minority who can afford to run a boat? www.mpi.govt.nz/dmsdocument/...
November 21, 2025 at 11:20 PM
Looks like “the economist” ain’t afraid of loosing Republican readers, which traditionally would be their political readership, all is changing to unrecognisable levels podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...
Loot first: Donald Trump’s transactional presidency
Podcast Episode · Economist Podcasts · 11/21/2025 · Subscribers Only · 50m
podcasts.apple.com
November 21, 2025 at 6:47 PM
That time of the year again ☺️
November 21, 2025 at 5:24 AM
Finding Illegal vessels is exciting, but not finding them, even with all this coverage, tools, and technology looking for them, is the result we want.
Cooperation works, and the FFA is pivotal in helping our region achieve some of the world's lowest levels of IUU fishing. www.ffa.int/2025/10/oper...
Operation Kurukuru 2025 delivers strong results - Pacific Islands FFA
Operation Kurukuru 2025 delivers strong results - Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency FFA manages, controls and develops Pacific Islands fisheries.
www.ffa.int
November 21, 2025 at 2:13 AM
Here are the results of Kurukuru 25 (1 of 4 annual operations). Finding Illegal vessels is exciting, but not finding them is the result we want
👥 17 FFA Members
📍 30 million+ square km covered
👁️‍🗨️ 56 Vessel Sightings
⚓ 126 Vessel Boardings
⚠️ 11 VoI
🔒 1 Vessel Detained

www.ffa.int/2025/10/oper...
Operation Kurukuru 2025 delivers strong results - Pacific Islands FFA
Operation Kurukuru 2025 delivers strong results - Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency FFA manages, controls and develops Pacific Islands fisheries.
www.ffa.int
November 21, 2025 at 2:05 AM
While climate change needs to be addressed through concerted international efforts, local and regional measures can minimise the scale of impacts on marine ecosystems and support adaptation while global socio-climate systems respond.
www.franciscoblaha.info/blog/2025/11...
Climate change implications for fisheries and aquaculture in the Pacific Islands region — Francisco Blaha
Last year, I blogged about my sobering week at the excellent Fisheries Climate Awareness Workshop (CLAW) , which was designed to enhance knowledge and awareness of SPC member countries and territorie...
www.franciscoblaha.info
November 21, 2025 at 12:08 AM
The upcoming technologies in geothermal energy are looking increasingly promising. NZ governments should be investing in this instead of going back to gas and oil
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/b...
Hotting up: the geothermal revolution
Podcast Episode · Babbage from The Economist · 11/19/2025 · Subscribers Only · 40m
podcasts.apple.com
November 20, 2025 at 8:47 PM
Surprise Surprise!
NZ plummeted from 2nd in the world in 2023 to 53rd in the 2025 Global Tobacco Industry Interference Index.
www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
'Absolutely ludicrous': Casey Costello defends plunge in global tobacco control ranking
New Zealand has gone from second in the world to 53rd in a major tobacco control index.
www.rnz.co.nz
November 20, 2025 at 12:23 AM
“Instead of concentrating the city’s population in places with the best access to public transport, jobs and other amenities, Auckland has built the majority of its housing in places without that access”

thespian off.co.nz/society/19-11-2025/why-aucklands-traffic-is-bad-in-one-map#1813
Why Auckland’s traffic is bad, in one map
Hint: it’s not because we didn’t build enough motorway lanes.
thespinoff.co.nz
November 19, 2025 at 7:21 PM
sport
noun
“an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others”

How people sitting inside a car, driving very fast and burning fuel is classified as “sport” is beyond me

www.rnz.co.nz/life/lifesty...
Formula One is more than a sport - it's a style
Formula One has moved on from Grid Girls and logo shirts, becoming a powerhouse in the fashion world.
www.rnz.co.nz
November 19, 2025 at 5:07 PM
Reposted by Francisco Blaha
NZ’s electric car sales dropped 70% last year while global sales rose, but the Transport Minister says his policies aren’t to blame.
newsroom.co.nz/2025/11/18/g...
Behind the Govt's urgent move to make it cheaper to import dirty cars
Analysis: NZ's electric car sales dropped 70% last year while global sales rose, but the Transport Minister says his policies aren't to blame, writes Marc Daalder
newsroom.co.nz
November 19, 2025 at 2:55 AM
From cost of living to feral cats… nothing delivered for the common good…
just slashing jobs, killing climate change policies, defunding health and educations and of course less taxes for landlords and fu*k the rest
www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-dept...
Christopher Luxon said feral cats would be added as a target in Predator Free 2050 - but it hasn’t happened
The omission of feral cats from the country's Predator Free plan has perplexed conservationists.
www.rnz.co.nz
November 18, 2025 at 5:48 PM
It's the 4th time NZ has won the "Fossil of the Day Award' 🤬
2025: for lowering its methane emissions target,
2023: for reversing the ban on offshore oil and gas exploration.
2022: for delaying setting a loss and damage fund
2021: not updating its emissions targets
www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
New Zealand awarded dubious 'Fossil of the Day' at COP30 climate talks
The government's decision to weaken methane emissions targets have garnered it the award for a fourth time, after avoiding it last year.
www.rnz.co.nz
November 18, 2025 at 12:39 AM
Because we really need more cars in NZ 🤯

“Importers will be charged $15 per gram of CO₂ for new imports instead of $67.50, and $7.50 per gram of CO₂ for used imports instead of $33.75”

www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...
NZ will be 'dumping ground' for high emission cars, EV advocate warns
The government says changes to Clean Car Standard changes will save car-buyers money.
www.rnz.co.nz
November 17, 2025 at 5:44 PM
Reposted by Francisco Blaha
#nzpol
The minimum wage increased by 1.5% this year. Data today from Stats NZ shows annual increases of:

- Food prices up 4.7%
- Fruit up 11%
- Beef up 17.4%, Lamb up 32.2%
- Bread up 11.4%
- Cheese up 14.8%
- Eggs up 16.2%
- Electricity up 11.8%

Laser-focused on the cost of living
November 17, 2025 at 2:36 AM
I’m a sucker for papers that combine tuna fishing and geopolitics… When, by chance, I came across a paper titled “Emergent geopolitical risks from fishing activities and past conflicts in the Pacific Ocean”, I definitely had to read it www.franciscoblaha.info/blog/2025/11...
Emergent geopolitical risks from fishing activities and past conflicts in the Pacific Ocean — Francisco Blaha
I’m a sucker for papers that blend tuna fishing and geopolitics… and it might be clear from my writings on tuna diplomacy and the alliances and misalliances that TW, CN, KR, JP, and the USA have w...
www.franciscoblaha.info
November 17, 2025 at 3:44 AM
COP30: 10 visuals to help you understand climate change

In Belem, the UN climate conference is underway. Here are key facts that explain how rising temperatures are disrupting our planet today.
www.dw.com/en/climate-c...
COP30: 10 visuals to help you understand climate change – DW – 11/14/2025
In Belem, the UN climate conference is underway. Here are key facts that explain how rising temperatures are disrupting our planet today.
www.dw.com
November 16, 2025 at 11:55 AM
Undoubtedly, the first weeks after the 10 January 2026 deadline set by the EU for importers in EU member states to adopt the CATCH system will be challenging, as they will need to enter the catch certificates received from non-EU countries manually.

www.franciscoblaha.info/blog/2025/11...
Training on the upcoming requirements of the EU Catch Certification Scheme — Francisco Blaha
As I wrote before, in 2023, Council Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008 was amended by Regulation (EU) 2023/2842 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 November 2025, introducing a series of u...
www.franciscoblaha.info
November 14, 2025 at 3:32 AM