Oceana: ICCAT cannot ignore pirate fishing happening in its waters

Today, Oceana has called upon the 49 Contracting Parties to the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) to examine and take action on activities related to illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing in the ICCAT Convention area, involving pirate vessels that are blacklisted by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine … Read more

Oceana celebrates NEAFC improvements on shark management

Lack of agreement for key commercial stocks like mackerel, blue whiting or herring Today, the North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC), responsible for managing fishery resources in the international waters of that region, has finished its week-long annual meeting in London. Oceana, an NGO observer to NEAFC, strongly welcomes the measures adopted for shark management … Read more

OCEANA alerts that EU is turning blind eye to swordfish overfishing

EU maintains inaction despite accounting for 90% of the fleet responsible. Oceana, the international marine conservation organisation, has sounded the alarm today on the European Union’s reluctance to take measures for the recovery of Mediterranean swordfish. According to an assessment carried out by scientists earlier this year, the stock is overfished; it has declined steeply … Read more

High levels of seafood fraud revealed in Danish fishmongers

The marine conservation organization Oceana, the Danish newspaper Søndagsavisen and the TV program “Go’Aften Denmark” conducted a study revealing that 18% of cod sold in fishmongers is not actually cod, but haddock or saithe. In total, 120 samples were collected from fishmongers, supermarkets and restaurants in the wider Copenhagen region in order to undergo DNA … Read more

Oceana exposes illegal driftnet fisheries, while Italy denies it

Oceana observers, together with a cameraman from Reportime (Corriere della Sera), have gathered evidence of fishing boats using illegal driftnets in southern Italy’s port of Bagnara Calabra, as published today on Corriere della Sera by Report journalist Sabrina Giannini. This destructive fishing gear has been banned in the EU since 2002, due to high by-catch … Read more

Oceana reveals illegal driftnet fishing in Morocco

Morocco officially phased out driftnets in 2010 with funding from the EU and US  Oceana today revealed that the illegal use of driftnets to capture swordfish has returned to Tangiers, Morocco. Evidence gathered by the international marine conservation organization over the past three days, shows small-scale vessels acting in coordination with larger ones with absolute … Read more

Oceana welcomes continued EU commitment to fight IUU fishing worldwide

Today, the European Commission added the Philippines and Papua New Guinea to the list of countries failing to tackle Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing (IUU). Both countries must now demonstrate that they have taken adequate measures to address IUU fishing and if identified shortcomings are not addressed, they could face a ban of fish and … Read more

Oceana says EU should act against true ‘walls of death’

Driftnet fishing for large pelagic species is banned due to high by-catch rates of endangered species. Today, the European Commission announced its proposal to ban all types of driftnets from operating in European waters. The measure is aimed at eliminating alleged loopholes that allow illegal fishing with driftnets to continue. However, according to Oceana, the … Read more