Oceana: Overfishing main driver of extinction risk for European marine fishes

Sharks, commercial deep-sea species, groupers, and halibut among most threatened fishes Overfishing is the major threat to fish species in European seas, according to the European Red List of Marine Fishes released today by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) and the European Commission, and carried out in collaboration with Oceana. Despite gradual … Read more

Oceana: Regrettable status of fish stocks conflicts with political commitments

The list of overfished stocks includes key commercial species such as cod and sole in the Atlantic and hake or swordfish in the Mediterranean Today, the European Commission has published its annual report on fishing opportunities. It shows a deteriorating trend in the statuses of both Atlantic and Mediterranean stocks. Oceana assesses the situation described … Read more

“Jurassic Park of sponges” discovered in the Mediterranean Sea

Spanish researchers have published[i] in PLoS ONE the discovery of a ‘rock’ sponge reef unique in the world. The structure, of which its kind was thought to have been extinct millions of years ago, was discovered at a depth of 760 metres surrounding the top of a small seamount between Valencia and Ibiza where drilling … Read more

EU citizens’ representatives endorse a sustainable future for the Baltic Sea

Today, a plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg voted on the multiannual management plan (MAP) for fisheries in the Baltic Sea – the first MAP under the reformed Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). The plan concerns the long-term managing of major commercial stocks of cod, sprat and herring, as well as providing measures for species of … Read more