Fisheries Restricted Areas (FRAs) are spatial management measures adopted under the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean and Black Sea (GFCM) to regulate or restrict demersal fisheries in the high seas. Since 2006, a total of six FRAs have been established in the GFCM area, each under different management objectives. Three were established to protect … Read more
According to FAO, a marine ecosystem should be classified as vulnerable based on the following characteristics: uniqueness or rarity, functional significance, fragility, life-history traits of species that make its recovery difficult and structural complexity. However, a VME is also described by its vulnerability, which is dependent upon the nature of the fishery and hence region … Read more
Book: Marine Animal Forests Oceana chapter: Sponge Grounds as Key Marine Habitats: A Synthetic Review of Types, Structure, Functional Roles, and Conservation Concerns This chapter reviews the major known monospecific and multispecific sponge aggregations in the world’s oceans. They are shown to occur from the intertidal to abyssal depths, in tropical, temperate, and high latitudes … Read more
As a result of Oceana’s advocacy, four deep-sea coral species will now be protected in the Mediterranean. The UN’s Barcelona Convention, a multi-country regional sea convention, voted in favor of adding four additional coral species – cockscomb cup coral, yellow-tree coral, yellow coral and bamboo coral – to the list of endangered or threatened species … Read more
Mediterranean countries agreed today to legally protect endangered cold-water corals in the Mediterranean Sea from harmful human activity at a UN Environment meeting in Albania. The 22 members of the Barcelona Convention voted in favour of including four additional coral species – cockscomb cup coral, yellow-tree coral, yellow coral and bamboo coral – to the … Read more
As the Contracting Parties of the Barcelona Convention are due to meet in Tirana, Oceana calls on the Mediterranean countries to approve a proposal to protect four threatened deep-sea corals. Despite not being of any commercial interest, these corals are vulnerable to the impact of human activity, in particular destructive fishing practices. Particularly noteworthy among … Read more
Along the Oceana marine exploration trips (2011–2012) it has been collected 17 species of cold water corals (Cnidaria: Anthozoa) from deep Alboran basin and submarine mountains located South of Portugal. There are two new records from theMediterranean and also an important found regarding the enigmatic Dendrobrachia bonsai. The paper is completed by some images with … Read more
This report presents the results of an evaluation of a set of national Programmes of Measures (PoMs) developed under the framework of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) by European Member States. The PoMs are the operational part of the MSFD and are therefore key to achieving and maintaining Good Environmental Status (GES) by 2020. … Read more
The increasing availability of detailed fisheries data, including logbooks and monitoring systems, enables the analysis of the relationships between fishing activities, their intensity and their potential environmental impacts at an unprecedented level of detail. In particular, from tracking data of fishing vessels, it is possible to derive information about the behavior of coastal fisheries and … Read more
Luxembourg – On October 9th, the EU’s Agriculture and Fisheries Council (AGRIFISH) are due to meet in Luxembourg where ministers will decide on catch limits for the Baltic Sea in 2018. Oceana has actively been advocating for the Total Allowable Catches (TACs) to be in line with scientific advice and with the Common Fisheries Policy … Read more
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We have already protected nearly 4 million square miles of ocean and innumerable sea life - but there is still more to be done.
Oceana in Europe gratefully acknowledges EU funding support.
