Habitat Protection Archives

Oceana calls on the Balearic Government once again to continue advancing in marine conservation

Xavier Pastor met with the Regional Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Territory, Gabriel Company, this morning for the first time since the constitution of the new Balearic government after the last regional elections. Oceana’s director put forward two proposals in late stages of development. The international marine conservation organization believes the Balearic government must continue … Read more

Chile Bans Shark Finning

The Chilean National Congress unanimously passed a nationwide ban on shark finning. Oceana drafted the bill and campaigned for its passage. This groundbreaking decision came on the heels of a very similar ban passed by the United States Congress in December 2010, and puts both countries at the forefront of shark conservation. Read Press Release

Oceana discovers carnivorous sponge, prompting the protection of five areas in the Mediterranean

The discovery was published in the international journal Zootaxa along with the scientific discoveries of German and Italian universities. Oceana scientists, the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg (Germany) and Le Marche-Ancona University (Italy) have identified carnivorous sponges in the deep waters of the Mediterranean in Spain and Italy. The discovery, published in the last issue of the … Read more

Oceana concludes expedition to document biodiversity and fisheries in the Baltic

Compiled data will be analyzed and used to present proposals for the creation of an effective network of Marine Protected Areas. Oceana concluded one of its most comprehensive expeditions to date to document species and habitats in the region around the Baltic Sea. The international marine conservation organization completed over one hundred dives with an … Read more

Portugal: Gorringe Bank

The impressive Gorringe Seamount is located about 250 km southwest of Cape San Vicente. Its summit is located about 30 meters from the surface and its base is over 5,000 meters deep, so you can find a variety of species living in areas near the sea illuminated surface to those living in dark depths. In … Read more

Portugal: Natura 2000 Network

Like any other EU country, Portugal has to comply with European regulations. The Habitats Directive requires all Member States to establish Marine Protected Areas (MPA) to form part of the EU’s Natura 2000 by the year 2012, thus creating an ecologically coherent set of areas of whose conservation is of critical community importance. The expansion … Read more

Oceana Ranger sets sail to the seamounts and underwater canyons of the Mediterranean and Atlantic

The two-month expedition will cover various countries and include work for the LIFE+ INDEMARES European project. Today, Oceana launched its 2011 Expedition with the departure of the Oceana Ranger research catamaran from the port of Burriana (Spain). The two-month expedition will cover various Mediterranean and Atlantic countries to study seamounts and underwater canyons. Despite their … Read more

Portugal: Overview

If any European country has the most ties to the ocean, it is undoubtedly Portugal. Yet, despite having the largest marine area in the EU, and the largest number of seamounts in the Northeast Atlantic, currently only three seamounts in this country’s waters (Banco D. João de Castro, Menez Gwen and Lucky Strike ), all … Read more

Oceana celebrates the advance toward the expansion of the waters of Cabrera National Park

Oceana congratulated the members of the Board of Trustees of Cabrera National Park, which includes a wide range of interested parties from fishermen and scientific institutions to the Balearic and Spanish administrations among others, for the agreement reached during the meeting held last Friday in the Archipelago of Cabrera (Balearic Islands, Spain) , recommending the … Read more

Oceans on track to irreversible damage unless immediate actions is taken

The first decade of the 21st century has been a devastating period for the oceans. Oceana warns that unless immediate action is taken, the damage will become irreversible. The international marine conservation organization estimates that since the beginning of the 21st century, 70 million tonnes of fish have been caught and afterwards discarded dead, 110,000 … Read more