Set crisis plan now or EU to ban fishing for Mediterranean swordfish

Mediterranean swordfish drops by 70% in 30 years from overfishing Oceana is fully behind a call for an urgent and immediate action plan to rebuild rock-bottom numbers of swordfish in the Mediterranean Sea and to safeguard its future in the region. The only other alternative to this is to completely close down swordfish fishing in … Read more

Mediterranean swordfish: Recover it or lose it

Mediterranean swordfish has been assessed as overfished for the last three decades. The stock has declined steeply since the 1980s, falling to levels that are currently 88% lower than what is considered sustainable. The minimum landing size (90cm) is set much smaller than the age of sexual maturity for the stock (130cm for males, 149cm … Read more

Ensuring better control of the EU’s external fishing fleet

The Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), Oceana, The Pew Charitable Trusts and WWF are working together to secure the harmonised and effective implementation of the European Union’s (EU) Regulation to end illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. The EU has been active in fighting IUU fishing at a global level through its innovative and ambitious IUU … Read more

Driftnets

  Anatomy of a Driftnet Drift nets are made of nylon and have a mesh size between 18 and 24 cm (although they can exceed 40 cm in some cases), can reach 35 meters in height and can be up to 20 kms in length. Although dimensions do vary, as these nets are often modified … Read more

Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing

Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing is a problem that affects the ocean worldwide and costs the global economy tens of billions of euros every year. It destroys marine habitats, adds pressure to fish populations that are already at risk of over-exploitation and undermines efforts to responsibly manage and protect the ocean. IUU fishing exploits … Read more