If you follow our work, you may have picked up on the fact that we have a thing for seamounts – we’ll admit it, it’s a bit of an obsession. What is it about seamounts that tickles our fancy? High biodiversity? Check Marine mammals and top predators? Check Productive ecosystems that include essential/sensitive habitats? Check … Read more
Oceana has warned about the breach of practically all the obligations assigned to the Board by the National Parks Act and its own regulations. The maritime conservation organisation Oceana has described the Board of Trustees of the Archipelago of Cabrera Maritime-Terrestrial National Park as inoperative, due to its almost total lack of activity in 2012. … Read more
When you hear about sharks, most people automatically think about the tropics and crystal clear blue waters. But the truth is that there are sharks all around the world, even in the cold waters of the Baltic Sea. In fact, 31 species of sharks, rays and chimaeras (class of Cartilaginous fish-Chondrichthyes), have been recorded in … Read more
Holidays are here and many people in Europe go out and buy some eel for their Christmas dinners, as they do every year. But what many might not know is that the European eel (Anguilla anguilla) is critically endangered and threatened with extinction. To provide some perspective, this threat level is higher than that given … Read more
Oceana claims that although approximately five million euros are transferred each year from the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and the Environment to the Balearic authorities for the conservation of Cabrera National Park, this funding is ultimately used for other purposes. This fact is made manifest by the dramatic drop in park economic resources and … Read more
Oceana welcomes last Friday’s decision by the authorities of Uusimaa and the Southeast Finland Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment to ban wild sea trout fisheries in the Gulf of Finland. The ban applies to all types of fisheries (including recreational) in the territorial waters beyond the coastal waters. Following the release of … Read more
Yesterday, the European Council agreed on the 2013 and 2014 TACs and quotas for deep-sea species. Oceana is deeply disappointed in the Fisheries Council agreement to increase TACs for many deep-sea stocks above levels proposed by the European Commission, which already were not ambitious enough to guarantee the responsible exploitation of these vulnerable species. On … Read more
According to recent electrofishing surveys by the Finnish Game and Fisheries Research Institute, the status of sea trout is critically endangered and very few juveniles were found in the Gulf of Bothnia in autumn 2012. Oceana is alarmed that despite this precarious situation, sea trout remains almost completely unmanaged, apart from some fishing bans in … Read more
It’s always good news when new marine protected areas are put in place; and good news is always a cause for a celebration. This week, the European Commission adopted an updated list of Natura 2000 sites which includes new additions submitted by several Member States (Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Malta, Sweden and the UK). These areas … Read more
Oceana applauds the European Parliament for voting today in favour of a strict ban on shark finning, which will require all sharks caught in EU waters, and by EU vessels fishing worldwide, to be landed with their fins still naturally attached. The measure closes long-standing enforcement loopholes in EU policy on shark finning, will improve … 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.
