Distribution of Deep-Sea Laminarians around three spanish Marine Protected Areas

Most marine protected areas (MPAs) have been declared marine extensions of protected terrestrial ecosystems. Therefore, these protected sites are around or beside coastal or island marine reserves, natural parks, etc. That means that most of the protected seabeds are normally shallow coastal areas usually no deeper than the infralittoral zone. Deep-sea laminarians extend down to … Read more

Belize bans bottom trawling in exclusive economic zone

All forms of trawling in Belize have been banned in the country’s waters including its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) when Fisheries Minister Rene Montero signed the Statutory Instrument effecting this legislative change today. The ban, effective December 31, 2010, is a historic decision by Prime Minister Dean Barrow’s administration, which has been making these environmentally … Read more

Oceana to the United Nations: Protect the Balearic seamounts

New report details proposal based on four years of undersea research in the Mallorca channel. Oceana has submitted a proposal to protect the main seamounts in the Mallorca channel (known as Ausias March, Ses Olives and Emile Baudot). The document was presented during the 11th session of the Sub-Committee on Marine Environment and Ecosystems of … Read more

ICCAT says “I can’t”

As the 17th Special Meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) closed today in Paris, France, Oceana, the world’s largest international ocean conservation organization called it a “massive failure for bluefin tuna and swordfish, with only modest progress for sharks and sea turtles.” “Despite the flowery rhetoric, it was ‘business … Read more

Seamounts of the Balearic Islands | 2010

In the Western Mediterranean, the highest concentration of seamounts occurs in the Alboran Sea and adjoining areas, as is the case of Seco de los Olivos seamount off Almeria or the seamounts and volcanic cones off Alboran. The LIFE+INDEMARES project focuses on these mounts and from 2009 to 2013 the project will study 10 Spanish … Read more

ICCAT Highlights: News from Paris

We are fast nearing the end of the 2010 ICCAT meeting in Paris. As some of you know, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) is an international body responsible for the conservation and management of tuna and related species, as well as species caught incidentally as bycatch in these fisheries, including … Read more