The Oceana Ranger research vessel sets sail today from the port of Sagunto (Valencia) to study the seabeds of the Canary Islands and gather information to propose designation of new marine protected areas. The objective of the expedition is to contribute information to help Spain protect 10% of its marine environment by 2012, as required … Read more
Oceana calls for regulation of high-seas shark fisheries, as these vulnerable species lack any management measures in international waters despite being highly exploited. Delegates from the international marine conservation organization are attending the Regional Fisheries Management Organisation (RFMO) meeting taking place this week in San Sebastian, Spain, whose aim is to discuss the failures in … Read more
Oceana ha informado a la UNESCO sobre el proyecto de instalación de una nueva boya de descarga de petróleo de la empresa Refinería Balboa enfrente de Doñana y sobre la solicitud de ampliación de la Refinería La Rábida de Cepsa, proyecto este último al que el Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Medio Rural y Marino … Read more
Oceana is pleased that the European Union countries have agreed to submit Germany’s proposals on sharks to the CITES Conference of the Parties next year. These proposals are to list the spurdog (Squalus acanthias) and porbeagle (Lamna nasus) sharks on Appendix II of CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna … Read more
Oceana is expressing its support for a proposal by Germany to list two shark species, the porbeagle shark (Lamna nasus) and spurdog (Squalus acanthias), on the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). This recommendation is one of many in a new report published by the international marine … Read more
Oceana has found around a dozen species in the Canary Islands whose existence in the archipelago was unknown until now. Glass and rock sponges, ball, white and black coral, and armored searobin are some of the species that have been found. A wide variety of rare species, or species for which hardly any biological information … Read more
A collaboration agreement that was establishment through the Research and Projects Department of the Fundación Biodiversidad has given Oceana the opportunity to demonstrate new criteria in support of the selection of marine habitats of interest to the European Community. The context of the project is included within our mission and exclusive dedication to researching, protecting … Read more
Traditionally, sharks were considered as bycatch in fisheries for highly migratory species like tuna and swordfish. That has changed. Pelagic sharks are now the targeted species of the European Union surface longline fleets. Spain possesses, by far, the biggest European longline fleet. The Spanish longliners’ catch in the Atlantic Ocean consists of more than 67 … Read more
Corals are simple animals and as such, are capable of forming very complex and diverse communities. Contrary to popular belief, simple organisms show the highest capacity for adaptation and mutation, since complex organisms are more specialized and therefore less likely to undergo genetic and physical modifications over a short period of time. All of them … Read more
Most of the pelagic (open water) sharks caught worldwide by European Union vessels come from the fisheries of modern Spanish and Portuguese surface longliner fleets which target them. In 2004, EU vessels reported 114,669 metric tons of shark and ray catches worldwide. More than 67 per cent of total shark catches in the Atlantic were … 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.
