Last month, scientists from all parts of the Mediterranean Sea gathered at the 18th session of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM), the regional body responsible for fisheries management in the Mediterranean Sea. The event once again centred on the bleak situation of Mediterranean fishing resources, in which … Read more
After more than a decade of overfishing, the newly established official Italian register reveals the number of vessels actually targeting swordfish is almost 90% lower than reported in 2015.After more than a decade of overfishing, the newly established official Italian register reveals the number of vessels actually targeting swordfish is almost 90% lower than reported … Read more
Despite being the oldest RFMO operating worldwide, GFCM assessments continuously depict an alarming picture of Mediterranean stocks which suggests a lack of effective and enforced fisheries management. Oceana calls upon the 18th session of the SAC to apply the best available scientific advice to halt overfishing and the continuing deterioration of fishing resources and the … Read more
Last night the European Parliament, Council of Ministers and Commission reached a disappointing political agreement on the multiannual management plan covering the stocks of cod, herring and sprat in the Baltic Sea. The plan in its current form allows for the continued overfishing of the most important Baltic stocks essentially making the CFP’s commitment to … Read more
Three years of work by 88 leading experts were effectively scrapped during the 37th Annual Meeting of the Helsinki Commission (HELCOM) last Friday, when countries approved a heavily weakened version of a plan to protect and rebuild the most threatened Baltic Sea and Kattegat species. Oceana denounces Denmark as the sole culprit that has effectively … Read more
WASHINGTON – Today, Oceana released a new report highlighting the ability of Global Fishing Watch to provide a clear view of fishing activity in marine protected areas (MPAs) around the world. Specifically, the report shows that Global Fishing Watch can monitor the success or failure of policies aimed at controlling fishing activity in protected areas. … Read more
What was initially conceived as a unifying initiative to protect threatened species in the Baltic Sea and Kattegat has quickly evolved into one country’s crusade to prevent marine protection in the region. It all began in 2007 when contracting parties to HELCOM, the governing body of the Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment … Read more
At 750 the number of recorded multicellular non indigenous species (NIS) in the Mediterranean Sea is far higher than in other European Seas: nearly triple the number of records known from the western European coastline from Norway to Portugal, and between 1970 and 2015, the number has grown by 215%. Of these, 450 were introduced … Read more
Anything can happen underwater, and even gardens are not necessarily composed of plants. In fact, one of the most beautiful habitats in the Mediterranean are coralligenous gardens, where trees are replaced by soft corals (gorgonians) and flowers give way to calcareous red algae and animals such as sponges and bryozoans. These wondrous places support a … Read more
Stately kelp forests and rainbow-colored coral reefs are known for the amazing amount of life that calls these habitats home. But don’t count out the muddy seafloor, especially if it harbors a tiny crustacean called a haploops. These animals, related to the sandhoppers often found on beaches, build small mud tunnel homes that litter the … 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.
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