Oceana in Europe campaigned with our colleagues in the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition for the prohibition of deep sea bottom trawling in the North East Atlantic waters. This victory provides increased protection for vulnerable marine ecosystems and deep-sea sharks. The European Parliament, Council and Commission reached an agreement that bans all trawling below 800m depth … Read more
Mediterranean countries have committed to develop new management measures for vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs) by 2018 at the latest. These unique ecosystems include cold water coral reefs, gardens of soft corals and deep-sea sponge aggregations, which are frequently associated with high levels of biodiversity. The first action will be to define a list of Mediterranean … Read more
Following campaigning by Oceana, three Fisheries Restricted Areas were created by the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) in the Strait of Sicily, protecting 1,493 square km between Italy, Malta and Tunisia from bottom trawling and preserving nursery areas. By preserving these areas, essential fish habitats for commercial fisheries stocks, a key step has … Read more
The protection of vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs) has been a legal obligation for RFMOs since 2008, with specific requirements laid out under United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Resolutions 59/25, 61/105 and 64/72. However, GFCM lags far behind other RFMOs in fulfilling these obligations. GFCM measures to protect VMEs are limited to three fisheries restricted areas … Read more
Recent scientific studies have demonstrated that vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs) such as cold water coral reefs, gardens of soft corals, and deep-sea sponge aggregations are found in many areas of the Mediterranean Sea, and are unique. These ecosystems are frequently associated with high levels of biodiversity, and provide habitat for very specific assemblages of species, … Read more
The 40th meeting of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean and Black Sea (GFCM) represents an opportunity for its Contracting Parties to consolidate the role of this Regional Fisheries Management Organisation, by translating the recently reformed Agreement into effective fisheries management. In recent years, GFCM has made progress in its approach to fisheries management, … Read more
Oceana welcomes a proposal to protect the Sound from sand dredging from 1 September 2016, which was presented yesterday by Mette Abildgaard (K), Maria Gjerding (Ø), and Martin Lidegaard (R). In the Sound, sand dredging has taken place on shallow sandbanks along the entire Danish coast. This activity is not permitted in Swedish waters of … Read more
Coalition Clean Baltic, Danish Society for Nature Conservation, Greenpeace, Landsforeningen Levende Hav, OCEANA and WWF sent an open letter today to the interim Director General of the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management, Ingemar Berglund. The letter calls upon the agency to step forwards and state its expert opinion regarding the potential re-opening areas in … Read more
Unfortunately, current government decision weakens original proposal in favour of private interests. The Danish government has finally released its long-awaited decision to establish new marine protected areas (MPAs) in Kattegat, to protect fragile and threatened soft bottom species and habitats, like sea pens and Haploops, which are largely left unprotected throughout European waters. The marine … Read more
On May 6th, the Danish government released its long-awaited decision to establish new marine protected areas (MPAs) in the Kattegat. The MPAs will protect fragile and threatened soft bottom species and habitats, such as sea pens and Haploops, which are largely left unprotected throughout European waters. Once in place, the 590 km2 areas, spread over … 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.
