WHY DOES IT MATTER? Nature across Europe is disappearing before our eyes. And it’s about to get worse. More than 80 percent of land and marine habitats are already in poor condition – with already half of coral reefs lost or degraded, pushing ecosystems and the life they support toward collapse. Overfishing persists and destructive bottom trawling is allowed in the majority of the EU’s supposedly ‘protected’ … Read more
About 250 kilometres southwest of Cape St. Vincent lies a remarkable underwater mountain known as the Gorringe Bank. This seamount rises some 5000 metres from the ocean floor and provides a unique haven for marine life in the North-East Atlantic. Oceana’s expeditions Between 2005 and 2012, Oceana carried out three research expeditions to the Gorringe … Read more
Marine animals and habitats in European waters face several threats driven by a combination of human activities, including climate change, and destructive fishing practices such as bottom trawling and overfishing. These threats not only endanger marine biodiversity but also undermine the health and resilience of the ocean. Below are five threatened ocean species and habitats, … Read more
Nice, 13 June 2025 – As the third UN Ocean Conference concludes in Nice, Oceana acknowledges positive commitments by countries including Portugal and Denmark to protect their marine protected areas from destructive fishing, such as bottom trawling. Oceana however deplores the mere token gestures announced by France – the host of the conference – and … Read more
On Monday, June 9, as the third United Nations Ocean Conference gets underway in Nice, France, President Emmanuel Macron announced that he will “limit” bottom trawling – an extremely destructive and wasteful fishing method that bulldozes the seafloor, destroying everything in its path – in some of the country’s marine protected areas. Specifically, France will … Read more
Ocean advocates took to the streets of Nice, France ahead of the United Nations Ocean Conference to call for stronger ocean protection. Organised by a coalition of marine and environmental NGOs led by Brussels-based Seas At Risk, the march comes just days after the announcement of the European Commission’s Ocean Pact, at a time when … Read more
Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in the European Union are established under EU laws including the Habitats Directive, to conserve rare, threatened, or endemic animal and plant species, along with their natural habitats. Thriving marine ecosystems within MPAs can better withstand the impacts of climate change, mitigate its effects, and support the regeneration of fish populations, … Read more
As the United Nations ocean conference prepares to open its doors, EU leaders are facing a new legal complaint over widespread destructive fishing in Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). Lawyers say continuing to permit this activity goes against the bloc’s core nature laws and puts the ocean – and people – in grave danger. The challenge, … Read more
The announcement takes place a few days ahead of the release of the EU Ocean Pact and the beginning of the UN Ocean Conference Oceana applauds the ratification of the High Seas Treaty by the EU and six Member States as a confirmation of the bloc’s commitment to protect 30% of the global ocean by … Read more
Oceana uncovers over 17,000 hours of destructive fishing inside France’s Marine Nature Parks, Calls on President Macron to ban bottom trawling in protected areas Nice, France. Just before France is set to welcome world leaders to Nice for the third United Nations Ocean Conference, Oceana released a new analysis revealing destructive fishing in the country’s … 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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