From the overuse of plastic to pellets on the beach

The countless tiny pellets that are washing up on shores across northern Spain in recent days is yet another fallout of the overuse of plastic. The true crux of the political debate here lies not in which government should take responsibility for the clean-up, but rather in urgently adopting and enforcing regulations to cut down … Read more

Conservative politicians, profits, and pan-seared sturgeon

This World Ocean Day, ‘the tides may be changing’, but political will remains stagnant when it comes to saving Europe’s seas. Dozens of Europe’s most iconic marine species are critically endangered. That’s CRI-TIC-CAL-LY endangered—just two steps below “extinct in the wild” and “extinct” in the IUCN Red List. Sharks and rays, including the hammerhead and … Read more

Oceana model shows extent of plastic crisis on the seabed

Oceana today released an advanced computational model that predicts the pathways and accumulation zones for plastic waste in the ocean, demonstrating that plastic travels long distances, not only at the surface, but also on the seabed. “15 million tonnes of plastic getting into our ocean every year is a global crisis which requires governments to … Read more

España

Oceana: EU Commission’s proposal could be key to tackling ocean plastic pollution at the source

The new Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation proposal advocates for deposit return systems across the EU and binding targets for reusable packaging, key measures to reduce marine litter Oceana regrets that the EU Commission has given in to corporate pressure to decrease the level of ambition and lower reuse targets Oceana underlines that the European … Read more

Spain Curbs Ocean-Polluting Single-Use Plastics Through New Waste Law

Following campaigning by Oceana and allies, Spain adopted a new Waste Law that incorporates the European Union Single-Use Plastics Directive into national law, helping to reduce ocean-bound plastic pollution. Oceana advocated for the new law to go beyond the minimum requirements set by the EU, including newly adopted measures that will: establish a basis for … Read more

Denmark