Habitat Protection Archives

Oceana welcomes EU Commission proposal to phase out deep-sea bottom trawling in the Northeast Atlantic

Deep-sea species and habitats are extremely vulnerable to exploitation. Today, the European Commission published a strong draft regulation establishing access requirements and conditions applicable to deep sea fisheries in the Atlantic. Oceana is pleased with this significant step towards the sustainable use of deep marine resources and the protection of vulnerable marine ecosystems. Among the … Read more

Natura 2000 Network: Learn More

What is the Habitats Directive? It is the European directive concerning conservation of the environment, which all Member States must follow through adequate protection and management of the habitats and species of community interest (namely, threatened, vulnerable, rare, and endemic habits and species). What is a SCI? A SCI (Site of Community Importance) is a … Read more

How do jellyfish reproduce?

It’s summer time, which means that jellyfish are back in the news – recent reports describe thousands clogging beaches in Spain. We thought it might be interesting to look into their reproductive ways and it turns out jellyfish have a rather interesting lifecycle. Interested in learning more? When jellyfish mate, the male’s sperm fertilizes the … Read more

Oceana welcomes new Danish HELCOM Chairmanship and encourages prioritization of work on fisheries and marine protection

Oceana welcomes the new Chairwoman of the Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission (known as HELCOM), Helle Pilsgaard, in her new position, and looks forward to the two-year Danish Chairmanship of HELCOM. In a letter addressed to Ms. Pilsgaard, Oceana marked its appreciation for plans to tackle the human causes of eutrophication by setting country-wide nutrient … Read more

Victory: 10 species of threatened sharks and rays get protected

Good news readers! Great news, actually: Yesterday, EU has finally voted in favour of strictly protecting ten threatened species of sharks and rays in the Mediterranean Sea, under the Barcelona Convention. These species, including hammerheads, tope, and shortfin mako, have declined dramatically in numbers – some by as much as 99% during the last century … Read more

Management plan for endangered baltic salmon riddled with loopholes that threaten the stock

Today, members of EU Parliament Fisheries Committee adopted the report by Marek Gróbarczyk (ECR, PL) to establish a multiannual plan for the Baltic salmon. Oceana is disappointed in the outcome of the vote and urges stronger measures. The text was proposed by the Commission in 2011, six years after the International Baltic Sea Fisheries Commission … Read more

Oceana: Threatened sharks and rays granted critical protection in the Mediterranean

Oceana is extremely pleased that the EU has finally voted in favour of strictly protecting ten threatened species of sharks and rays in the Mediterranean Sea, under the Barcelona Convention. These species, including hammerheads, tope, and shortfin mako, have declined dramatically in numbers – some by as much as 99% during the last century – … Read more

Sharks and Rays Gain Protections in the Med

The EU voted in favor of strictly protecting 10 threatened species of sharks and rays in the Mediterranean Sea, under the Barcelona Convention. These species, including hammerheads, tope, and shortfin mako, have declined dramatically in numbers – some by as much as 99% during the last century – while others have vanished from parts of … Read more

More than half of species in Cabrera National Park are not sufficiently protected

Oceana has warned that many species in the National Park are also present in neighbouring areas, where they are not protected, so it believes that its enlargement is necessary, as approved by the National Park Board of Trustees one year ago Oceana has warned that more than half of the species in the Cabrera Archipelago … Read more

Oceana: RIO +20 fails to make real progress towards restoring oceans

Oceana finds the final Rio +20 declaration to be a weak statement of intent, with no legally binding commitment that fails to respond to the urgent conservation and management needs of the world’s oceans. Rio +20 concludes without any real progress towards a sustainable future. However, the international marine conservation organization acknowledges as a positive … Read more