ClientEarth and Oceana have appealed before Spain’s Supreme Court after authorities declined to investigate Spanish vessels suspected of illegal fishing in West African waters. The case, now being appealed from the Superior Court of Madrid, focuses on vessels owned by Spanish companies but operating under foreign flags in the waters of Senegal and Guinea Bissau. … Read more
As one of the world’s biggest importers of seafood products, the European Union has become a global leader in the efforts to combat illegal fishing. Yet an important gap remains unaddressed by European authorities. EU citizens and companies own fishing vessels that operate under non-EU flags, including Flags of Convenience (FoC). These are issued by states with weak fisheries monitoring, control, and surveillance mechanisms. What are flags … Read more
New European Commission study reveals how secret vessel ownership undermines the fight against illegal fishing Each fishing vessel must be registered in a country, and ‘flies its flag’. A new study by the European Commission confirms that EU fishing companies flag their vessels to countries with minimal disclosure requirements on vessel information and beneficial ownership structures, making them ideal for concealing illegal and unsustainable fishing activities. This practice is closely … Read more
What is beneficial ownership? Beneficial ownership refers to the people or businesses that ultimately own, control and financially profit from fishing vessels’ operations, even if their names do not appear on official ownership documents. To avoid scrutiny, many fishing companies operate under the so-called flags of convenience, countries with limited control over their fleets, weak … Read more
Companies in just 10 countries, including Spain and the Netherlands, control more than half of all large-scale fishing vessels When EU- owned but foreign-flagged vessels are taken into account, the number of vessels in the EU’s distant water fleet more than doubles A new report by EqualSea Lab of the University of Santiago de Compostela … Read more
New research has uncovered a significant issue in the seafood industry: geographical mislabelling in cod. The study, led by Marine Cusa, former research assistant at Liverpool John Moores University, and currently Marine Policy Advisor at Oceana in Europe and researcher at The Technical University of Denmark, analysed over 108 Atlantic cod products and found that … Read more
Overfishing small pelagic fish, like sardinella in West Africa , has devastating consequences for the region’s coastal communities. These fish are often destined for fishmeal and fish oil production, which is heavily driven by European demand for farmed salmon, worth 8.4 billion euros in 2022. Investigations, such as those led by Danwatch, reveal that companies like … Read more
Fishing is a EUR 144 billion global industry, accounting for 15% of the world’s protein intake. Currently, reported fish catches are approximately 90 million tons annually, and the most recent estimates indicate that the annual volume of fish caught illegally could reach up to 26 million tons. Illegal fishing is particularly prevalent in regions with … Read more
Currently, consumers lack basic information on processed seafood like canned tuna and fish fingers – such as species name, origin, which country caught the fish and the catching or production method The movement urges the European Commission to enhance transparency and require consumer information for all seafood by revising the relevant EU law Brussels – … Read more
As the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) convenes in Rome, the Med Sea Alliance, alongside its members Oceana and the Environmental Justice Foundation, is urging member countries to take immediate action to safeguard Mediterranean fisheries. With illegal fishing and depleted fish stocks posing critical threats, the Alliance is calling for decisive measures on … Read more
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