See Jenn’s news media appearances

National coverage 

See latest regional coverage, media appearances, book reviews and more (below).

2024-25

‘The narwhals stop calling’: how the noise from ships is silencing wildlife in the Arctic. Nov 2024. The Guardian (Seascape).

Dodging New York traffic: how hundreds of whales are on a collision course with ships and boats. Sep 2025. The Guardian (Seascape) / Pulitzer Center Ocean Reporting Network.

Arctic shipping noise is silencing narwhals and shifting their movements, study finds. July 2025. The Globe and Mail / Pulitzer Center Ocean Reporting Network. (This story follows up to UN Ocean Conference reporting on reducing ocean noise from shipping).

• Hear narwhal sounds diminish as a Canadian icebreaker transits an Arctic area
• Hear narwhal sounds diminish as a bulk ore carrier transits an Arctic area

Entangled: Is the Race to Protect North Atlantic Right Whales Tied Up in Canada-U.S. Relations? is The Globe and Mail’s series funded by the Pulitzer Center’s Ocean Reporting Network as part of Jenn’s 2024-25 Ocean Reporting Network (ORN) fellowship.

• (story 7) Six ways to show humanity to endangered right whales. Dec 2025. The Globe and Mail / Pulitzer Center. Also see our series wrap up in The Globe’s Climate newsletter.
• (story 6) Whales, extinction and the sounds of underwater noise pollution. Nov 2025. the Globe and Mail / Pulitzer Center Ocean Reporting Network. Also see ‘How to name a whale’ in The Globe’s Climate newsletter.
• (population update) North Atlantic right whale population grows for fourth straight year, but recovery still far off. Oct 2025. The Globe and Mail / Pulitzer Center Ocean Reporting Network. Also see The Globe’s Climate newsletter.
• (story 5) Cut the cord, save the whales: Rope-heavy fishing traps are a deadly hazard for endangered animals. There are safer options. Why haven’t they caught on more widely? Sep 2025. The Globe and Mail / Pulitzer Center Ocean Reporting Network. This story was among more than 40 stories – selected from 800 – featured in the Pulitzer Center’s 2025 “A Year in Stories.”
• (story 4) Collision course: Ship strikes jeopardize the endangered North Atlantic right whale’s survival. July 2025. The Globe and Mail / Pulitzer Center Ocean Reporting Network. Also see The Globe’s Climate newsletter.
• (story 3a) A moveable feast: Changes in feeding and breeding grounds leave researchers struggling to find North Atlantic right whales, much less save them from extinction. June 2025. The Globe and Mail / Pulitzer Center Ocean Reporting Network. Also see The Globe’s Climate newsletter.
• (story 3b) The tides of change for endangered whales: To stop North Atlantic right whales from vanishing, Canada and the United States have spent decades trying new policies, facing new crises and trying again. Here’s a timeline of their struggle. June 2025. The Globe and Mail / Pulitzer Center Ocean Reporting Network.
• (story 2) Great expectations: Can motherhood help North Atlantic right whales to rise again? Promising signs from the latest calving season give experts new hope. April 2025. The Globe and Mail / Pulitzer Center Ocean Reporting Network. Also see The Globe’s Climate newsletter.
• (story 1) Skies of Danger, Seas of Trouble: To keep eyes on North Atlantic right whales, scientists must first tackle perennial issues of plane safety. October 2024. The Globe and Mail / Pulitzer Center Ocean Reporting Network. Also see The Globe’s Climate newsletter for a deeper dive on the series.

Third UN Ocean Conference

• Canada, Panama lead push to quiet ocean from shipping noise. June 2025. The Globe and Mail. And highlghted as noteworthy reporting in The Globe’s climate newsletter.
• UN treaty to protect high seas gains global support, but falls short of ratification. June 2025. The Globe and Mail.

Unsettled: How Inuit Are Adapting to Climate Change, Which Is Affecting Coastlines in Canada’s Far North is The Globe and Mail’s series funded by the Pulitzer Center’s Ocean Reporting Network. This series secured gold at the Canadian Association of Journalists awards for Environmental and Climate Change reporting, silver at the Digital Publishing Awards for Best Topical Reporting: Climate Change, and was nominated for the Canadian Journalism Foundation Award for Climate Solutions Reporting.

• The Decibel (The Globe’s daily podcast): How Labrador Inuit are adapting to a warming world
• On Thin Ice, the first story in the series, describes the community-led innovations across Nunatsiavut, the sprawling, self-government Inuit region in northeastern Labrador, for adapting to sea ice weakening. 
• How Labrador Inuit are adapting to a new marine reality as climate change threatens sea life and food security describes community-led marine adaptations.
• Labrador Inuit have dozens of words to describe sea ice travel. Hear them all here. In partnership with the Sikusiutet SmartICE committee in Nain, this reporting also includes a sea ice glossary, including the more than four dozen Inuttitut terms Labrador Inuit use to describe the winter freeze-up, the spring thaw, the period in between when it’s safe to travel on the ice, and the sea ice season in general. 
• Also see The Globe’s climate newsletter, which promoted this reporting in “A deeper dive,” a section of the newsletter reserved for reporters to share behind-the-scenes commentary on their reporting. And see Pulitzer grantee and photographer Johnny CY Lam’s Unsettled photography portfolio.

COP16 Biodiversity Summit

• At COP16 Biodiversity Summit, Canada Pushes for High Seas Treaty To Protect Marine Environments. November 2024. The Globe and Mail / Pulitzer Ocean Reporting Network.
• Biodiversity or bust? Here’s what happened at COP16. November 2024. Canadian Geographic / Pulitzer Ocean Reporting Network.

Seasplainer (see more issues of our fisheries, ocean and climate change explainer series under regional coverage) – This series is award-winning, securing golds in Business (Atlantic Journalism Awards), Best Column (Digital Publishing Awards) and silver (Best Digital Editorial Publication for a small publication at the Digital Publishing Awards).

• Where N.L. parties stand on fisheries and ocean priorities and N.L. parties agree we need more say on fisheries — but what about climate change? Oct 2025. The Independent.
• Politicizing science: how quota quarrels lose sight of sustainable fishing. July 2025. The Independent.
• The fatal truth about commercial fishing. Fishing fatalities are preventable and the workforce is shrinking. So why aren’t there fewer deaths in Canadian commercial fisheries? Oct 2024. The Independent.

• DFO ‘rolling the dice’ with cod fishery announcement, says scientist Ottawa’s ‘historic return of the commercial Northern cod fishery’ sidesteps science that finds all populations of Atlantic cod in Canadian waters are historically low. Jun 2024. The Independent

Newfoundland town pleads with Ottawa to pitch in for cleanup costs at old fish-sauce plant. Aug 2024. The Globe and Mail

Testing history: New research places the Vikings at L’Anse aux Meadows in the year 1021, providing new insights into a pivotal moment. May 2024. Saltscapes

Organizations can help journalists navigate deluge of climate research research. January 2024. J-Source

2023

Northern cod numbers may have moved out of critical zone, says federal scientist. November 2023. The Globe and Mail. 

This Newfoundland town’s old fish-sauce plant is a stinking, hazardous mess. But whose? October 2023. The Globe and Mail. 

To report fully on climate change, journalists need to integrate Indigenous knowledge into their coverage. August 2023. Oxford Climate Journalism Network Essay Series.

Atlantic mackerel numbers have collapsed – can a moratorium bring them back? March 2023. The Globe and Mail. Noted as noteworthy reporting in the Globe Climate newsletter: Do we need a moratorium to save the mackerel population?

How new fishing technology could help save North Atlantic right whales. January 2023. The Globe and Mail. Noted as noteworthy reporting in the Globe Climate newsletter: New fishing tech could help save North Atlantic right whales.

2022

Laying the groundwork for climate-smart fisheries. December 2022. The Globe and Mail. Noted as noteworthy reporting in the Globe Climate newsletter: Solutions: Climate scorecard provides picture of how marine life will fare as oceans become warmer.

The federal government is less likely to protect an at-risk fish if people like to eat it: When a fish is listed under the species at risk registry, federal protection measures kick in. But the vast majority of at-risk fish that are commercially valuable never get that designation, data shows. November 2022. The Narwhal. Noted as noteworthy reporting in the Globe Climate newsletter: Investigation from The Narwhal: The federal government is less likely to protect an at-risk fish if people like to eat it; and featured in The Narwhal’s December newsletter. 

The cod delusion: A moratorium on cod fishing that was supposed to last two years has now lasted 30. What will it take to rebuild cod stocks — and a way of life? July-August 2022; and refeatured in October ‘Best of 2022’ issue. Canadian Geographic magazine. The author gratefully acknowledges the support of the Access Copyright Foundation – Marian Hebb Research for supporting the research making this story possible.

Post-tropical storm Fiona shows vulnerabilities in Canada’s weather-radar network, expert says. October 2022. The Globe and Mail. Noted as noteworthy reporting in the Globe Climate newsletter: Weather: Post-tropical storm Fiona shows vulnerabilities in Canada’s weather-radar network, expert says.

Girls Who Fish wants more women on the water: A Canadian program, bringing girls and women to the fishing wharf, has inspired a sister program in Japan, and could hold the key to more sustainable wild fisheries. September 2022. The Globe and Mail. Also featured in Globe Climate: Why getting women and girls in the fishing boat is good for the environment

This fishing captain is combining Inuit knowledge with scientific expertise to fight climate change in the Far North. April 2022. The Globe and Mail. Also featured in Globe Climate: Inuit knowledge and science skills fight climate change in the Far North

The future before us: Youth have become an unrelenting force in using their voices to safeguard biodiversity. (Cover story) Winter 2022. Nature Conservancy of Canada. 

In Labrador, desperate pleas for search and rescue resources still unanswered. January 2022. The Globe and Mail. The author gratefully acknowledges the support of the Access Copyright Foundation – Marian Hebb Research for supporting the research making this story possible.

2019-2021

You may not be relying on the best available evidence to make decisions and design programs — here’s why. December 2021. Future of Good. 

Is the social impact workforce ready for the next emergency? September 2021. Future of Good.

Scapegoat or scoundrel? Why scientists want to clear the air about the role of seals and focus on ecosystems. August 2021. The Globe and Mail. 

Could smaller, more sustainable cod fishing make a comeback? Newfoundlanders look cautiously for ways to rebuild. March 2021. The Globe and Mail

Atlantic cod rebuilding plan undermines scientific evidence and Indigenous Knowledge: critics. March 2021. The Narwhal.

New film shows three-decade old cod collapse even more relevant today. February 2021. Canadian Geographic.

Fishing Lessons: Bringing the whole community back to the wharf, one child and one woman at a time. November 2019. Reader’s Digest. Now available online.

Film (screenwriting)

Last Fish, First Boat. 2021, adapted from Cod Collapse. Animated short film released Feb 18, 2021 by McIntrye Media and Canadian Geographic with funding by Canada Council for the Arts. Co-produced with Kat Frick Miller and Matt LeMay.

Unsettled. Forthcoming film (2024). Animated short film about communities contending with climate change, determined to stay.

Appearances and talk-tapes (radio, tv)

• National 

The rise, fall and (maybe) rise again of the Newfoundland cod fisheries. July 15, 2024. The Big Story Podcast

Federal government lifts northern cod fishing moratorium. Jun 28, 2024. CTV Your Morning

CBC News Network’s Jacqueline Hansen Speaks to Author of ‘Cod Collapse.‘ June 26, 2024. CBC News Network

Newfoundland and Labrador cod moratorium ends after 32 years. June 26, 2024 Global National

Fish Tale. June 26, 2024. CBC As it Happens.

COMMONS podcast – Episode 6 – Emptying an Ocean; Episode 7 – Merchants of the Rock; and Episode 8 – Make and Break Harbour. May 2024

How the cod moratorium rocked N.L. and what can be done to recover from it three decades on(July 2022) – CBC Radio’s The Current

• Regional 

End of cod moratorium touted after 32 years as Ottawa approves small increase in commercial catch. June 26, 2024. CBC NL

How fish react to warming ocean is part of new climate risk scorecard (Dec 2022) – CBC Radio’s The Broadcast

Impacts of the moratorium three decades later (July 2022)—CBC Radio’s The Signal

Regional coverage 

Read the latest Seasplainer – The Independent’s award-winning fisheries and ocean explainer series:

• Politicizing science: how quota quarrels lose sight of sustainable fishing. July 2025. The Independent.
• The fatal truth about commercial fishing. Fishing fatalities are preventable and the workforce is shrinking. So why aren’t there fewer deaths in Canadian commercial fisheries? (October 2024)
• DFO ‘rolling the dice’ with cod fishery announcement, says scientist (June-July 2024)
• Commercial redfish fishery to reopen, but pending quota threatens to push some fishers out (February 2024)
• Is Northern cod on its way back from the brink? (November 2023)
• How Climate Change is Threatening our Fisheries (2023)
• Fishers are Back on the Water, but they say the province’s fish pricing system is pushing rural communities toward economic collapse (2023)
• How can Fisheries Support Biodiversity Recovery? (2022)

• How Can Fisheries Managers Account for Climate Risk? (2022)

• Why are NL fishers going out of province to land their catch? 

• Who Took the Fish from the Goddamn Water? 

• Who decides the price of fish at the wharf? 

• How many fish are in the sea? 

• Will there be icebergs this year? 

30 years after the moratorium, what have we really learned about cod and science? July 2022. CBC NL.

Really old rocks in Gros Morne: Gros Morne National Park, and the remarkable Tablelands, is a trip back in ancient history. Spring-summer issue. Saltscapes.

Home is where the harvest is: How community freezers are helping people stay connected to their values and way of life. Spring-summer issue. Inside Labrador. The author gratefully acknowledges the support of the Access Copyright Foundation – Marian Hebb Research for supporting the research making this story possible.

Brave Lucy Bolger: What her great-granddaughter learned about her as she followed her light at Point Amour Lighthouse. Spring-summer issue. Inside Labrador. The author gratefully acknowledges the support of the Access Copyright Foundation – Marian Hebb Research for supporting the research making this story possible.

Fishy business: Five young harvesters explain why they’ve chosen to haul anchor for a life on the water. September 2021. Atlantic Business Magazine.

Haunting tales of Point Amour Lighthouse. Fall 2021. Inside Labrador.

As the Climate Changes, So Does Managing Fisheries: Over 20 years ago, DFO recognized that “changes in climate cannot be ignored.” Why is it taking so long to put this insight into practice? May 2021. The Independent. 

A season of change: How N.L.’s wild fisheries have gone from plentiful to pitiful. May 2021. CBC NL.

Honouring Inuit Elders: Memorial University hosts first-ever convocation in Labrador. April 2021. (Inside Labrador)

Conservation Conundrum: Will listing Atlantic Salmon under the Species At Risk Act help or hinder restoration efforts. Spring issue. Atlantic Salmon Journal. 

Status report: slow starts and further delays for N.L. offshore in 2021-22. March 2021. Atlantic Business Magazine.

Colab co-founders: from hyperloop pioneers to Innovators of the Year. May 2021. Atlantic Business Magazine. 

TEA FOR 2SLGBTQIA+ (Memorial University of Newfoundland, Office of Public Engagement)

Is Corporate Concentration the Future of Fish Processing? December 2020. The Independent (NL). Shared byline with Jack Daly)

Who Controls Fish Processing in Newfoundland and Labrador? November 2020. The Independent (NL). (Shared byline with Jack Daly)

Cod Haven’t Fully Returned, but We Still Return for the Cod. October 2020. The Independent (NL).

2020 Innovator of the Year. September 2020. Atlantic Business Magazine.

Why NL Fishers are Protesting in a Pandemic: An Explainer. May 2020. The Independent (NL).

Report: FLR Complied with Disclosure Rules in Salmon Die-off. April 2020. The Independent (NL). 

Quirpon Island: Abandoned, but Still Bursting with Life. March 2020. Downhome. (Cover story)

After the Cod Collapse: Is Cod Jigging Still a Rite of Passage? October 2019. Downhome Magazine.

Accordion to Don: How a Squeezebox Became a Barometer for My Father’s Health. Summer 2019. Newfoundland Quarterly. (listen to the Father’s Day 2019 show of VOCM’s Sunday Drive with Darrell Power for an interview with Jenn Thornhill Verma about this article – the segment runs 15.53-23:21)

The Newfoundland Expatriate Survey (Part 1). July 18, 2019. The Independent (Newfoundland and Labrador).

The Newfoundland Expatriate Survey (Part 2). July 22, 2019. The Independent (Newfoundland and Labrador). (Read the August 3, 2019 CBC News story “Buried report offers insight on why expats leave N.L. — and why they’d return.” The story followed Jenn’s interview on CBC Radio’s On the Go on July 23, 2019)

Cod and The Fishery: Down, But Not Out. July 2, 2019. The Independent (Newfoundland and Labrador). 

Shed Culture: Some Work, All Play is the Newfoundland and Labrador Way. May 2019 (Cover story). Downhome Magazine. (Cover story)

Letter: Career opportunity in fishing. . . for plastic? (Opinion-Editorial) November 19, 2018. The Telegram (St. John’s, NL)

Letter: The reasons we fish: Calling it “recreational” misses the mark. (Opinion-Editorial). October 6, 2018. The Telegram (St. John’s, NL)

Letter: Abuses to Recreational Cod Fishery Hurts Everyone, Including the Fish.(Opinion-Editorial) September 28, 2018. The Telegram (St. John’s, NL)

I’s The B’y That Catches the ‘Bergs: Meet Newfoundland and Labrador’s Iceberg Cowboy. Winter 2018. Explore Magazine (p.14)

Half a Century a fisherman – ‘til they closed it. First Person Feature. Winter 2018. Saltscapes Magazine

Letters from Pop (Newfoundland and Labrador’s Poor Literacy Legacy). March 2018. Maisonneuve Magazine

Still Afloat. March 2016. Downhome Magazine

Book reviews

Their Beautiful Land: An Inuit history of Northern Labrador. A review of “Avanimiut: A History of Inuit Independence in Northern Labrador”
by Carol Brice-Bennett, revised by Lena Onalik and Andrea Procter. May 2024. Literary Review of Canada.

Finding Amelia: The old man and the fish. A review of “Kings of Their Own Ocean: Tuna, Obsession, and the Future of Our Seas” by Karen Pinchin. December 2023. Literary Review of Canada.

Boiling Point: Of treaty rights and fisheries. A review of “Contested Waters: The Struggle for Rights and Reconciliation in the Atlantic Fishery” edited by Fred Wien and Rick Williams. November 2023. Literary Review of Canada.

From Writing Breaking News to Stories that Stand the Test of Time. A review of “Changing Our Tunes: Why National Anthems Fall Flat” by David Pate. February 2024. University of King’s College.

A story finds its moment. A review of “Work Life: Working Remotely from Bali to Boardroom” by Melinda Jacobs. September 2023. University of King’s College.

Author Esmeralda Cabral persisted, buoyed by her MFA mentors’ belief. June 2023. University of King’s College. 

King’s MFA program helps Gina Woolsey publish her unique story on Swissair crash. June 2023. University of King’s College. 

Book Review: A Primer of Life Histories: Ecology, Evolution, and Application by Jeffrey A. Hutchings. March 2022. Atlantic Books Today.

Book Review: Land of Many Shores, edited by Ainsley Hawthorn. January 2022. Atlantic Books Today.

Book Review: Reflections from Them Days by Nellie Winters. Fall 2021. Inside Labrador

Book Review: Reflections from Them Days by Nellie Winters. February 2021. Atlantic Books Today. 

Must-Have Newfoundland and Labrador Books of 2020. December 2020. Atlantic Books Today.

Book Briefs. Poetry. Year of the Metal Rabbit. Tammy Armstrong. September 2020. Atlantic Books Today.

Book Briefs. Poetry. New-found-land by Carol Hobbs. Spring/Summer 2020. Atlantic Books Today.

Arts writing 

Snowmageddon: Revisiting a snowfall like no other through a child’s eye. January 2021. CBC NL. 

Portraits and Portrayals. October 2020. Downhome. 

Rocking the Art World: In the Painted Rock Movement, The Fun is in The Find. July 2020. Downhome.

The Yarnbomber. Not Your Grandmudder’s Knitting: A Yarnbomber Leaves Her Mark in Newfoundland. Spring/Summer 2020. [EDIT] magazine.

Roam Like Home: Journal Entries From a Trip Across Newfoundland. April 2019. Newfoundland Quarterly.

Here Comes the Sun: Artist Jean Claude Roy’s Bright Outlook for Newfoundland and Labrador. March 2019. Newfoundland Quarterly. 

Abandoned Architecture as Art. January 2018. Downhome Magazine

An Artist’s View. October 2016. Downhome Magazine

• Instagram
• LinkedIn
• X

^{© 2024 Jenn Thornhill Verma}