European Commissioner Karmenu Vella visits ‘Oceana Ranger’

Karmenu Vella, European Commissioner for the Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, visited the research catamaran Oceana Ranger last Friday to learn about the scientific expeditions carried out by the international marine conservation organisation. A Maltese native, Mr Vella had the chance to get acquainted with the underwater research currently being conducted in Malta by Oceana, … Read more

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

ICCAT

The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT) meets once again to decide the future of large pelagic species like sharks, swordfish, bluefin tuna and albacore, among others. ICCAT manages the so-called Highly Migratory Species in the Atlantic Ocean. These fish are commercially exploitable species that develop their life cycles in waters around the world, … 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