Nearly 100,000 vessels make up the European Union fishing fleet. This includes boats that fish both in EU waters (the domestic fleet), in the waters of other countries and in international waters (the deep-sea fleet). In addition, there is an unknown number of vessels belonging to other European countries that are not members of the … Read more
The appearance this summer of several cetaceans stranded on the coasts of the Canary Islands and the Azores while naval manoeuvres were being carried out has reopened the debate on the impact on cetaceans from the use of sonar and other acoustic pollution arising from these exercises. This is not the first time this has … Read more
There are eight species of sea turtle, five of which can be found in the North Atlantic; and, of these, two are regularly caught as accidental catches by longliner fleets: the leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) and, above all, the loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta). Less frequently, the hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) and the Kemp’s … Read more
A seamount is a regarded as a geological elevation that reaches a minimum of 1,000 metres in height and can consist of very different physical, geological and chemical properties. Therefore, seamounts can only exist where there are sea beds more than one kilometre deep, or, which is one and the same thing, over 60%-62% of … Read more
Oceana urges the Balearic government to prohibit bottom trawling on the continental shelf or at less than 150 meters depth. The international marine conservation organisation sent island authorities a series of comments on the new Fishing Law of the Balearic Islands that is currently being reviewed. In its analysis, Oceana also disagrees with the reduction … Read more
Today in Brussels the European Commission released the long-awaited Community Plan of Action for the Conservation and Management of Sharks, nearly a decade after the adoption of the FAO International Plan of Action on Sharks. The Community Plan has been eagerly anticipated by conservationists, as many of Europe’s shark and related ray populations have been … Read more
Oceana is satisfied with the arrest of three captains and shipowners in the Italian port of Bagnara Calabra for their use of illegal driftnets. The accused are under house arrest thanks to the proceedings begun by the Prosecutor’s Office of Calabria as a result of a documentary aired by Italian TV channel RAI 3 on … Read more
Oceana released a new report today finding widespread malnutrition in commercial and recreational fish, marine mammals and seabirds because of the global depletion of the small fish they need to survive. These “prey fish” underpin marine food webs and are being steadily exhausted by heavy fishing, increasing demand for aquaculture feed, and climate change. … Read more
The EU Fisheries Council meeting today in Luxembourg has adopted the Council Conclusions on the EU Plan of Action for the Conservation and Management of Sharks[1]. Oceana, the international marine conservation organisation, supports the statement of the EU Fisheries Ministers, which endorses the Plan while also urging it is implemented without delay. While the … Read more
Scientists do not know what could be the reason of increased jellyfish population. The increase of sea water temperature due to climate change, the reduction in the number of predators due to over-fishing and the increase in nutrients due to contamination of the coasts can be some of the reasons. The superabundance of jellyfish does not … 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.
