Oceana celebrates the creation of three protected fishing areas in the Balearic Islands

Oceana, which has been demanding this measure since 2006, congratulates the General Secretariat of Fisheries and encourages the government to continue with the protection of other similar seabeds which should also be closed to trawling and other aggressive methods. Marine conservation organisation Oceana would like to congratulate the General Secretariat of Fisheries for the protection … Read more

Ausias March Mountain

The sun rises and the sky is covered with clouds but the weather´s not cold;  we can catch sight of the sun and it gets warmer. We reach Ausias March Mountain, close to Ibiza and Formentera islands; this is a fishing area for the trawler fleet. The bottom is rich in hake and Norway lobster. … Read more

West Formentera

The weather hasn´t improved today, we are in the immersion point but the waves are rather high. We started preparing the equipment in case the weather becomes benevolent, so we can put the ROV out into the water. It is nine o´clock in the morning and the operation starts. The way to the bottom is … Read more

Deep-sea sharks

In our first immersion today at more than 900 meters deep we found a group of deep-sea sharks. We explored some volcanic pinnacles near Emile Baudot. Back in 2013 we found stony sponges in a seamount in Gulf of Valencia, now we could see them here.  This is the second time these sponges are ever … Read more

Fish, birds and gorgonian gardens

We spent the night in Porto Colom, surrounded by fishing boats, long liners and bottom trawlers. The atmosphere was a bit strange, as fishermen were staring at our t-shirts with the Oceana logo, and seemed to know us. Today, a reporter is on board with us from the TV show, Thalassa. We begin to head … Read more

Oceana launches an expedition to Cabrera and the Balearic seamounts

This morning, Oceana launched an expedition to document three seamounts that lie between the islands of Mallorca, Ibiza and Formentera, as well as the Fort d’en Moreu which is a coralligenous reef to the East of the Cabrera archipelago; all of which belong to the Balearic Islands. The international marine conservation organization will capture footage … Read more

Signs of trawling in a habitat that should be protected

We have finished research on the planned points of the expedition, but because the weather is so good, we are extending the area to be surveyed in order to check and know better the extent to which the protected area should be expanded. We are moving forward with work in the Fort d’en Moreu area, … Read more

A problem with the camera

The first light of day passes through the porthole; the sea is calm and quiet. Several seabirds are welcoming the day. We are already in the next diving station.  The first time we put the ROV in the water we had a problem with the high definition camera, and had to abort the immersion. After … Read more

Nine ROV dives for the first day

After ten years of expeditions, once again another Oceana campaign kicks off. This time, the goal is to document the seamounts in the Mallorca Channel through video and bionomic mapping.  It is now eight o’clock sharp, and the Cathedral of Palma is disappearing from view, and the bow of the ship is pointing towards the Cabrera … Read more