Protecting king salmon

The world’s largest fishery, Alaska’s pollock industry, accidentally catches and kills king salmon, an important species both commercially and ecologically. Accidentally killing and catching non-targeted species is known as “bycatch,” and 7 million kg of unwanted and wasted fish are thrown back into the water every year. After pressure from Oceana and its allies, the … Read more

Banning Mediterranean driftnetting

After Oceana showed that some fishing ships continued to use illegal fishing gear, the European Court of Justice rejected further requests by the French government for exemptions from the EU ban on driftnetting in the Mediterranean Sea. This ruling spares 25,000 juvenile bluefin tuna caught annually in the driftnets, along with thousands of other types … Read more

Italy closes loopholes on illegal driftnetters

Two months after Oceana presented its findings to ACCOBAMS, a scientific organization devoted to the protection of dolphins, whales and other cetaceans in European seas, the Italian Attorney General announced new efforts to crack down on illegal driftnetting by declaring it illegal for vessels to carry driftnets on board regardless of whether or not they … Read more

Doubling funding for fishery observers

Thanks largely to Oceana’s efforts, the U.S. Congress doubled the funding available for fishery observer programs in the 2004 federal budget from approximately $14 million to more than $29 million. This included significant increases for Oceana’s top regional priorities, the New England and west coast groundfish fisheries. Since then, Oceana’s efforts have successfully maintained these … Read more