European Parliament at risk of backpedaling on marine protection ambition

Plenary likely to approve report by Fisheries Committee that supports destructive fishing and undermines Parliament’s position on biodiversity targets Marine NGOs Seas At Risk and Oceana are sounding the alarm that the European Parliament is poised to adopt a report on the Marine Action Plan (1) on 18 January supporting destructive fishing. The report was … Read more

Three out of four Spanish trawlers fished in marine protected areas in 2022

The information is distilled from official data from the General Secretariat for Fisheries Trawling, one of the most destructive fishing methods, is allowed in marine protected areas despite being a threat to the ocean and the sustainability of the fishing sector Three-quarters of the vessels that bottom trawled in Spain last year did so, at … Read more

Extending the deep-sea bottom fishing ban in the Mediterranean Sea

The ocean is the largest planetary carbon sink. It stores equivalent amounts of carbon to terrestrial ecosystems and removes around one-third of CO2 emitted by human activity. Healthy marine ecosystems capture and lock in carbon, acting as a nature-based solution to the climate crisis. Deepwater marine sediments and soft bottoms are considered a critical reservoir … Read more

Isidella elongata(Cnidaria: Alcyonacea) facies in the western Mediterranean Sea: visual surveys and descriptions of its ecological role

Abstract Isidella elongata is a candelabrum-shaped alcyonacean forming important facies on the bathyal muddy bottoms of the Mediterranean Sea, currently considered a sensitive habitat and heavily impacted by deep-sea fisheries. Until a few decades ago, this facies was a widespread habitat of the deep Mediterranean seabed and I. elongata was a common species in the … Read more

The cascade effect and trawling

We have all heard the term “cascade effect” used to refer to how a government decision, a war, a political event, or other situation impacts society, the economy, prices, and so on. This expression is also used in ecology to explain how human action, a catastrophic event, or a particular incident, for instance, can have … Read more

Expert views on the EU fisheries package

Today, the European Commission is releasing its package of communications to protect fisheries and the ocean. Its content defines the European Commission’s ocean ambition for marine protection, decarbonisation of the fishing industry and sustainable fisheries management for the remainder of its mandate. Here we speak to Oceana colleagues, Nicolas Fournier – director of habitat protection, … Read more