From the outbox of Meyer’s inbox:

Could it be at some point in the world’s future history that we are simply going to run out of everything? There are some scientists and environmentalist who warn of that danger. One area of concern is the ocean’s fish population. It’s something we’ve always taken for granted. There will always be fish, right? Maybe not so much. Here’s report from the BBC detailing the work of the Marine Stewardship Council and their efforts to bring eco-friendly fish to one of the worlds biggest fish consumer market: Japan.

CAN ECO-FRIENDLY FISH BE BIG IN JAPAN by Jill Martin reporting for the BBC News

A billion people depend on eating fish, while 200 million workers survive by catching it. But the oceans are under extreme pressure and many fear we are running out of fish.

The experience of the Grand Banks Cod Fishery, off the east coast of Canada, serves as a grim warning. It had been landing tens of thousands of tons of cod every year for centuries. But, in the early 1990s, one of the world’s most abundant populations of the fish suddenly collapsed, leading to a total fishing moratorium.

“Forty thousand fishermen lost their livelihoods,” says Rupert Howes, chief executive of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). “This was the wake-up call.”

Over the last 50 years, the amount of fish caught around the world has increased five times. We used to think the oceans were limitless: now we know this isn’t true. The MSC was established 10 years ago to help transform fishing. A partnership of businesses, scientists and environmentalists, it certifies seafood that has been caught in a sustainable way. At the moment, 10% of seafood is certified by the MSC as sustainable. Now it is moving into one of the biggest and most challenging markets – Japan.

Market forces

Although Japan has just 2% of the world’s population, it eats 10% of its fish. It’s a national obsession. In Tokyo’s Tsukiji market – the world’s largest – they trade more than 400 different types of seafood, from wriggling eels to 300kg tuna. Before World War II, the vast majority of Japan’s fish came from local waters. But now, because of depleted stocks, 40% of this fish is actually imported. If this market is to have a future, it is essential that all these fish are caught using sustainable methods. This will not happen unless customers understand the importance of sustainability and demand MSC-certified fish.

You can hook the rest of the article here.

From the inbox of Meyer’s outbox:

I’m filing this in my abundant good news/bad news section of the Meyer 2000 hard drive. Bad news is that down under they’re feeling the pinch of the shortage of skilled labor workers. Good news is if your looking for work you might consider heading to Australia. Folks have done far crazier things to find a job! PS don’t let their spelling of labor throw you… means the same thing!

From the Queensland Business Review:

Skilled trade shortages ‘widespread’, warns HIA

Australia experienced a deterioration in the availability of skilled tradespeople in the residential sector over the December 2009 quarter, according to the latest Housing Industry Association (HIA) – Australia Bricks Trades Report.

HIA’s Chief Economist Harley Dale explains there was a shortage of labour in ten out of 13 skilled trades at the end of 2009, compared to eight trades being in shortage in the September quarter.

The headline HIA-Austral Bricks Trade Availability Index ticked down one notch from -0.07 to -0.08 in the December 2009 quarter, meaning tradespeople were defined as being in moderate under supply.

“Trade rates, meanwhile, are on the rise again, but remain lower when compared to late 2008,” Dale says.

The HIA-Austral Bricks Trade Prices Index increased by 0.9 percent in the December 2009 quarter following a rise of 0.5 per cent the previous quarter.

Dale says due to modest price pressure and comparatively better trade availability, it is a favourable time to build a new home or renovate.

“The clock is ticking, however, given the competition across different sectors in 2010 for a limited pool of skilled labour. There is a clear risk that labour shortages will re-emerge as a significant constraint on the rate of recovery in both new home building and renovations by the middle of this year,” he says.

“The training of apprentices and trainees needs to be afforded high priority, and so too does the encouragement of young people to not only start a trade but to complete the training. Failure to achieve this will only exacerbate intergenerational challenges.”

He maintains immigration policy is also an important focus.

“The current immigration framework is less than effective in plugging skilled labour shortages in the residential sector as distinct from the wider construction industry and HIA have sought to work with the Government to address this issue.”