Seamounts are biodiversity hotspots. Oceana’s work in Seco de Olivos confirmed that the area is home to vulnerable species like red coral, various species of black coral and the angular roughshark—which is in danger of extinction in the Mediterranean. It’s waters are also a migratory area for numerous types of cetaceans and it is a … Read more
The proposal includes a wide variety of sites, such as seamounts, banks, canyons, slopes, trenches, ridges, mud volcanoes, gas seeps, carbonate mounts, etc. Although these habitats are less well-known than seagrass beds or coral reefs, they are equally important. The CBD considers that the proposed sites are important enough from a biological and … Read more
Within the coastal region, the people inhabiting the area have had centuries of interactions with the marine environment. Persistent fisheries targeting bluefin tuna during their spawning migrations into the Mediterranean have been established since antiquity. As a result of intense fishing and large coastal populations, pollution is of particular concern in the region. Recent fish … Read more
Studies concerning marine species and habitats in the Canary Islands are scarce and limited to a few meters depth. The archipelago’s narrow continental shelf has limited the knowledge of ecosystems to just a few miles from the coast. A clear example of this is that only 0.15% of the archipelago is protected. The location of … Read more
The marine environment of the Doñana site is, as occurs in the terrestrial domain, an exceptional site for biodiversity. Situated in the gulf of Cadiz, at the confluence of special geographic, oceanographic and environmental characteristics, the marine area of Doñana is a place of enormous strategic and biological productivity. It is of great importance for … Read more
In addition, because this marine area encompasses almost 300,000 km2 within its territorial waters and Exclusive Economic Zone, the Galicia-Bay of Biscay area is Spain’s second largest ocean area after Canarian waters. Despite this, only 250,000 ha are protected, in other words, less than 1%. Ninety-four percent of this protected area corresponds to the recently … Read more
In 2005, during Oceana’s last expedition to the area, onboard the Oceana Ranger research catamaran, the organization identified around 36 species that had never been previously documented in the seamounts of the Northeast Atlantic. The results were published in the report ‘Seamounts of the Gorringe,” which makes an initial characterization of this submarine elevation and … Read more
The waters within Portugal’s EEZ have few marine protected areas (MPAs), and those that do exist are small and cover only coastal areas and as such, many species and habitats of great ecological importance remain unprotected. Only in the case of Ilhas Berlengas, is an area further off the coast protected, but it focuses on … Read more
Over 50% of Europe’s territory is covered by sea, but Europe’s marine environment is highly threatened by both pollution and the dramatic loss of marine species and habitats. The June 2008 Marine Strategy Framework Directive is the first EU binding law designed to make a significant contribution to the preservation, protection and restoration of marine ecosystems, including … Read more
These protected areas constitute the Natura 2000 Network. In the first stage, Member States nominate protection areas, known as Sites of Community Importance (SCIs), which are thus subject to a preventive protection regime. Afterwards, in a maximum period of 6 years, the corresponding management plans must be drawn up and, once they are ready, 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.
Oceana in Europe gratefully acknowledges EU funding support.
