Russian President Vladimir Putin approved legislation that will ban drift net fishing off of Russia's eastern coast. Environmentalists have long opposed the practice for its unsustainability and massive amounts of bycatch. The law, which will go into effect January 1, 2016, will align Russia with most of the international community. The U.N. adopted a resolution calling for all countries to ban drift net fishing back in 1991. However, Russia's law has strained relations with Japan, which operates 35 drift net fishing vessels in Russian waters, compared to the 16 that are Russian flagged. For the full story, see http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/russia-s-ban-on-drift-net-fishing-is-good-for-the-environment-but-bad-for-japan/525305.html.