A multitude of human activities have put the Baltic Sea ecosystems under severe pressure and turned this brackish, semi-enclosed sea into one of the most polluted in the world. Destructive fishing practices like dredging and bottom trawling pose heavy threats to these sensitive ecosystems. Oceana’s report on fisheries outlines the biggest problems related to fisheries … Read more
Oceana is deeply disappointed that the 49 Contracting Parties present at the 24th Regular meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) have failed to address long standing management issues for key stocks under its scope. The highly overfished and commercially overexploited Mediterranean swordfish, blue shark and shortfin mako have all … Read more
Finally, Mediterranean swordfish has been recognised as an urgent issue that needs to be addressed. This is music to the ears of us at Oceana as we’ve been campaigning for this issue for many years. Finally, politicians have reacted to the terrible situation that has developed: after 30 years of overfishing, the stock is just … Read more
Today, the European Commission released its annual proposal of total allowable catches (TACs) for the main commercial fish species in North East Atlantic waters for 2016. Oceana has welcomed the proposal that sets a key milestone towards ending overfishing by 2020, but is disappointed that the Commission has failed to fully meet catch reductions advised by scientists … Read more
OCEANA urges the Contracting Parties of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) – the organisation responsible for highly migratory species in the Atlantic and adjacent waters – to guarantee that all stocks under its concern are managed in a sustainable manner, specifically to combat overfishing. This is especially crucial for the … Read more
Oceana condemns the decision by the EU Fisheries Council on Baltic catch limits for 2016 Today, the Agriculture and Fisheries Council of the EU reached an agreement on the 2016 total allowable catches (TAC) for the Baltic Sea fish stocks. Regretfully, just like the last year, European ministers have yet again decided to ignore scientific advice … Read more
Oceana warns that lack of data and transparency endangers the sustainable exploitation of third countries’ resources A report by the European Court of Auditors has revealed a lack of data that jeopardises the sustainability of EU fisheries agreements with third countries (Sustainable Fisheries Partnership agreements or SFPAs). According to the Common Fisheries Policy, EU fleets … Read more
On 22nd of October, the Agriculture and Fisheries Council of the EU will gather in Luxembourg to begin their annual negotiations on catch limits for the Baltic Sea in 2016. Oceana releases today science-based recommendations for setting Total Allowable Catches (TACs) and quotas in the region to rebuild overexploited fisheries. The organization has called the Council … Read more
In advance of the next EU Fisheries Council decision on fishing opportunities in the Baltic Sea, Oceana releases its recommendations for setting total allowable catches (TACs) for 2016, in line with the most recently available scientific advice and aimed at ensuring EU fisheries recover from overfishing within the committed deadlines. EU Member states shall ensure … Read more
Today, the European Environment Agency (EEA) published its Marine Protected Areas in Europe’s Seas report. Oceana welcomes the release of this research, the first ever assessment of the entire EU network of marine protected areas (MPAs), which shows that the Baltic Sea is only one of three European regions (along with the Greater North Sea … 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.
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