In reality, business carries on as usual inside so-called protected areas. While the number of marine protected areas (MPAs) in the Baltic Sea and Kattegat continues to increase, the number of areas with actual protection measures unfortunately, isn’t growing at the same rate. Many MPAs completely lack plans that regulate the activities within them. Oceana’s … Read more
Oceana regrets the decision of the Supreme Court to approve the permits that have been granted to Repsol to prospect for hydrocarbons on the eastern coastline of Fuerteventura and Lanzarote. This decision will help to destroy up to 25 marine areas and 82 protected species that were documented by Oceana during its expedition in this … Read more
EU citizens are urged to participate in the Public consultation before June 16th Oceana denounces the European Commission plan to develop deep-sea mining operations, and appeals to EU citizens to oppose this destructive activity by participating in the public consultation, which is open until June 16th, 2014. Deep-sea mining is one of the most extreme … Read more
Oceana calls for the ban to be extended to other fisheries in Portugal and the rest of the EU The Portuguese government has issued a decree prohibiting all deep-sea fishing – with the exception of longlining, which is authorized under certain conditions – in an area spanning 2,280,000 km2, to promote sustainable fisheries and the … Read more
Fish, squids and corals full of organisms whose names you can’t even begin to pronounce – our oceans are brimming with life. Yet sometimes it seems that many on land have forgotten that life once began in the ocean and still plays a big role in maintaining the balance on this planet. Even in this … Read more
1.- The combined size of the world’s MPAs exceeds the size of Europe. While that might sound like a very large area, the MPAs in fact cover less than 3 percent of the world’s oceans according to IUCN (The International Union for Conservation of Nature). 2.- Only around 1 percent of the world’s oceans are closed to … Read more
The Gorringe Bank, located 1600 nautical miles SW off the Portuguese coast, has been object of several studies since it was discovered in 18875 by Captain Henry Honeychurch Gorringe and his crew. After that, in the twentieth century, Prince Alberto I of Monaco developed various campaigns in the area. Ever since, several studies have taken place … Read more
Thessaloniki, Greece – Today, a joint statement committing to adopt measures to tackle global fleet overcapacity was signed by the EU and major fishing nations including the United States, Colombia, Japan, Philippines and Indonesia. This initiative revives and strengthens the international commitment to address this problem, which was signed in 1999 but has since been … Read more
The lack of meetings hampers the control and monitoring of the decisions taken and the prevention of illegal fishing activities that affect the park. Oceana requests the convening, without further delay, of the meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Cabrera National Park which was scheduled for December 2013. The international marine conservation organisation … Read more
Based on the findings of three expeditions, Oceana has proposed 13 areas of high ecological importance to become new marine protected areas in the Baltic Sea. Most of them host species and breeding grounds classified by HELCOM as threatened and vulnerable. Species like the rare Haploops crustacean, and the blue mussel-like horse mussel, though not … 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.
