Oceana and MarViva welcome today’s judgment by the EU Court of Justice which has found Italy in breach of EU law for continuing to use driftnets, a fishing gear banned since 2002. Driftnets are a serious threat to the conservation of endangered species in the Mediterranean. This case was finally taken to the Court in … Read more
The international conservation organization Oceana welcomes yesterday’s publication of EU regulation 1010/2009 that lays out rules for the implementation of a community system to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. The EU regulation against IUU fishing foresees that fish imports to the European Union must be accompanied by catch certificates, validated … Read more
In 2008, Oceana and MarViva collaborated in a campaign to definitively eliminate the use of driftnets in the Mediterranean. Banned by the United Nations more than 15 years ago, this gear is still being used and constitutes a serious threat for cetaceans, turtles and sharks. This fishery mainly targets the already overexploited swordfish stock which … Read more
In October 2009, the European Commission presented its proposal for total admissible catch (TAC) and fishing effort for 2010 for the main fish species targeted by the Community fleet in the North East Atlantic. The EU Council of Fisheries Ministers will decide the fishing opportunities based on this proposal between December 14 and 16. TACs … Read more
Today the international marine conservation organization Oceana is publishing a case study with two letters, revealing that the European Commission any direct responsibility for subsidies, to spend under the European Fisheries Fund for a company, closely linked to IUU fishing (Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported) and the Xunta de Galicia find no legal reason for not … Read more
This week, the European Union is closing their public consultation for a reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) from 2012. Oceana is asking the European Commission to focus the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy on improving the balance and the health of the oceans. Healthy oceans are not only a prerequisite for fisheries … Read more
The Oceana-MarViva project represented a new effort in the Mediterranean in defense of the North Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) (BFT), one of the most important commercial species living in the Mediterranean Sea1. According to the last stock assessments carried out by the Standing Committee on Research and Statistics (SCRS) of the International Commission for … Read more
Oceana’s ongoing efforts to increase funding for the fishery observer program continue to produce results. Observers are trained monitors who count everything that is caught by a fishing vessel, including discarded fish, sea turtles and marine mammals. Observers are our eyes on the ocean and provide important information for fishery managers. In 2009, Congress appropriated … Read more
Oceana issued a report to the European Commission and the general public on the continued use of illegal driftnets in the Mediterranean. This report is the last of a series resulting from years of Oceana work against the use of this illegal fishing gear and the fraud in subsidies. Oceana’s efforts contributed toward a judgment … Read more
The Court also formally denied France’s request to consider future exemptions for its fleet from the EU driftnet ban. In Italy, the Calabrian prosecutor formally charged several driftnetters for illegal activities and has since kept them ashore under house arrest.
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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.
