Sea turtles have played vital roles in maintaining the health of the world’s oceans for more than 100 million years. These roles range from maintaining productive coral reef ecosystems to transporting essential nutrients from the oceans to beaches and coastal dunes. Major changes have occurred in the oceans because sea turtles have been virtually eliminated … Read more
Sharks are extremely vulnerable species which have been fished by European Union vessels at home and around the world without any management for decades. Globally, 21% of shark, ray and chimaera populations are threatened with extinction according to the IUCN Red List. In the Northeast Atlantic the figure is even higher with 26% threatened and … Read more
Oceana, the largest international organization focused solely on ocean conservation, released a new report today entitled Why Healthy Oceans Need Sea Turtles: The Importance of Sea Turtles to Marine Ecosystems. The new report describes the vital roles sea turtles play, including maintaining healthy seagrass beds and coral reefs, providing key habitat for other marine life, … Read more
Sharks are less managed than other fish species although they have fewer offspring and play a critical role in ensuring healthy oceans. In a new report by Oceana, The Race for Threatened Sharks, the international marine conservation organization demonstrates how sharks are extremely vulnerable species that have been fished by European Union vessels at home … Read more
Deep-sea coral reefs have already disappeared from most of the Mediterranean. Oceana has discovered large colonies of white coral and a wealth of associated fauna in Spanish waters of the Alboran Sea (Western Mediterranean), with greater abundance at depths between 300 and 500 meters. The finding took place during the 2010 expedition of the research … Read more
A rich and varied biodiversity, composed by healthy stocks of marine species, plants and their habitats is crucial for the proper functioning of the Baltic ecosystem. Due to the special conditions of the Baltic, only a handful of the so called “cornerstone” species form the basis of the marine food web. Baltic cod is one … Read more
Overfishing and destructive fishing practices like bottom trawling represent a major threat to the Baltic ecosystems. In 2008, fishermen from all the surrounding countries caught more than 50 different fish species in the Baltic, for a total of 742 thousand tons of fish. Finland, Sweden and Poland are the largest Baltic fishing nations. Sprat and … Read more
Did you know that the climate change is the main cause of the disappearance of corals and gorgonians in the Mediterranean? Increased global temperature is causing a series of significant changes around the world. Melting ice caps and glaciers cause the sea level to rise, hurricanes are stronger and more frequent, droughts alternate with floods … Read more
There are seven species of sea turtles swimming the world’s oceans. Six of the species can be found in EU waters: greens, hawksbills, loggerheads, leatherbacks, olive ridleys and Kemp’s ridleys. (link to our species content) A seventh species, the flatback, only inhabits the waters around Australia. Female sea turtles, like all other reptiles, lay eggs. Most … Read more
There are hundreds of species of sharks, ranging in size from the spine pygmy shark (7 inches) to the whale shark (40 feet), inhabiting all ocean waters and consuming a variety of prey species. Contrary to popular belief, sharks don’t eat anything and everything in the sea; many sharks have specific prey. For example, whale … 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.
