First ever database of EU fishing fleet around the world launched

Oceana and its allies launch the transparency database www.whofishesfar.org, an online database detailing 15,264 EU vessels authorised to fish outside EU waters between 2010 and 2014. The figures were made public for the first time after an access-to-information request to the European Commission. Transparency is a key element for eradicating illegal fishing and ensuring sustainable fisheries. … Read more

North-East Atlantic threatened species left in the lurch

North-East Atlantic countries have adopted recommendations for the management of four threatened species and habitats: blue mussel beds, allis shad, sea lamprey and Azorean limpet. The decisions were taken at the annual meeting of the OSPAR Commission, which closed on Friday in Ostend (Belgium), and will finally extend protection to these vulnerable animals, which have … Read more

Oceana denounces Denmark for blocking conservation of threatened Baltic species

Baltic Sea states failed to agree on a key recommendation on the conservation of species that are threatened with extinction, at a HELCOM Heads of Delegation meeting that closed yesterday in Tallinn, Estonia. Oceana is deeply disappointed that Denmark is blocking a recommendation that is supported by all of the other HELCOM Contracting Parties, by … Read more

Unexpected records of ‘deep-sea’ carnivorous sponges Asbestopluma hypogea in the shallow NE Atlantic shed light on new conservation issues

  Marine cave communities have been a continued source of ecological surprises, among other things because of their close ecological and evolutionary ties with the deep sea. The discovery of cladorhizid sponges, the deepest occurring poriferan family, in shallow Mediterranean caves in the 1990s was one such surprise, leading to the generally accepted hypothesis that … Read more