Europe has a long tradition of exploiting marine fishes and is promoting marine economic activity through its Blue Growth strategy. This increase in anthropogenic pressure, along with climate change, threatens the biodiversity of fishes and food security. Here, we examine the conservation status of 1,020 species of European marine fishes and identify factors that contribute … Read more
The underestimation of fisheries removals is a global issue that spans countries from different continents and different socio-economic situations. Underestimation of catches is especially important in countries where fishing fleets are highly diversified, the enforcement of fishing management is low, data availability is poor, and there is high demand for fish products in local markets. … Read more
Brussels—July 10, the Fisheries Committee of the European Parliament is voting this Wednesday (July 12) on the North Sea multiannual management plan for fish species living near the sea bottom. The plan is due to cover nearly one-third of all fish catches in EU waters, and includes species such as cod, haddock, whiting, sole, plaice … Read more
Brussels – The European Commission has today released its annual communication on the state of fish stocks and the progress in achieving the commitments of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). Oceana has continuously expressed concerns regarding the lack of decisive political action during recent years to stop overfishing in European waters, and has called on … Read more
For effective fisheries management to be able to act, realistic fisheries removal data are needed, so as to assess exploitation levels and the impact of fisheries on the ecosystem. Unfortunately, official statistics underestimate catches in most countries and regions. In the Balearic Islands (Western Mediterranean), where artisanal fishing and industrial bottom trawling are the most … Read more
Management of fisheries in the Mediterranean basin has often been described as a unique and complex challenge, due to their multi-specificity, the diversity of gear-types, and the number of nations involved. This perspective has gone hand-in-hand for decades with a lack of strong political will from decision-makers, who have been unwilling to put Mediterranean fisheries … Read more
How can fashion help save the oceans? This was the huge challenge Oceana and Uttopy gave to a group of young designers in Barcelona earlier in the year. To make things even harder, the designs had to focus on the biggest threat facing the oceans right now: overfishing. Not exactly the easiest design to doodle, right? So, … Read more
Today, the European Court of Auditors (ECA) published a damning report on fisheries compliance by EU Member States. Auditors visited Spain, France, Italy and the UK (Scotland), which represent more than half of the EU fishing fleet and almost half of the total fish catches in the Union. The results reveal a lack of control … Read more
The European Union is failing to responsibly manage its fish resources. Despite several international commitments and EU framework regulations on sustainable fisheries, the status of fish stocks is still far from being considered as healthy. Overfishing in the EU continues to affect a large proportion of fish stocks. In the North Western Waters (NWW) the … Read more
Research finds potential for 200,000 tonnes more cod, sole, plaice and other fish within 5-7 years An overhaul of current fisheries management could result in 87% more fish being caught in the Atlantic waters around the UK, Ireland and the north-west of France if governments stop overfishing, marine conservation organization Oceana has announced today. According to a … Read more
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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.
