Since yesterday, New Zealand has been celebrating a great victory for its oceans and the coastal communities living on the eastern shores of Pacific island. The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) refused marine consent to mine phosphorite nodules on the Chatham Rise, an area of ocean floor to the east of New Zealand, forming part of … Read more
Recent research on the Baltic Sea salmon demonstrates perfectly why we need to consider entire ecosystems when we develop fisheries management plans, like the coming multiannual plan for Baltic cod, sprat and herring. This study shows how the survival of salmon might be affected by the poor status of the cod stock in the Baltic … Read more
Lately, I have been involved in discussions on the Commission’s proposal for a multi-annual management plan for cod, sprat and herring, and the fisheries exploiting those stocks in the Baltic Sea. This is the first plan of its kind developed under the renewed Common Fisheries Policy. Eagerly awaited by stakeholders and managers, the plan is … Read more
The number of fishermen has decreased by 86% and formerly abundant species have disappeared due to overfishing Oceana estimates that the actual catches from fisheries in the Balearic Islands for the period 1950-2010 are 2.3 times higher than the official totals. The study, which has taken two years, is Oceana’s contribution to the Sea Around … Read more
Realizamos una estimación de las capturas totales reales de las Islas Baleares, obteniendo un resultado de 570.500 t desde 1950 a 2010. Los desembarques oficiales representaron un 44%, seguido por los desembarques que se venden en el “mercado negro” (24%), descartes (18%), pesca recreativa (10%) y pesca de subsistencia (4%). Teniendo en cuenta que las capturas oficiales fueron para ese periodo 248.000 t, las capturas reales … Read more
Spain, which is Europe’s largest fishing country and the biggest importer and exporter of seafood products in the European Union, has become the first Member State to take action against pirate fishing. Spain introduced a new fisheries law that imposes stronger penalties on Spanish citizens found to be involved with pirate fishing anywhere around the … Read more
Number of stocks exploited according to MSY will fall from 27 to 18 EU fisheries ministers reached an agreement concerning fishing opportunities for 2015, for the main commercial species in the Northeast Atlantic. Oceana strongly denounces the adopted catch limits, which were set above scientifically advised levels in most cases, leading, beyond logic, to a … Read more
Seafood fraud and seafood mislabeling is unfortunately a very common and widespread problem across Europe, something that OCEANA’s previous studies in Denmark and elsewhere in France have revealed. However, it is now a bit harder for opportunistic individuals and groups to trick consumers. On Saturday, as part of the reformed Common Fisheries Policy that aims to … Read more
The Agriculture and Fisheries Council (AGRI-FISH) will meet in Brussels on the 15th-16th of December to decide the catch limits of the main commercial fish species in the North-East Atlantic for 2015. Oceana reminds EU Member States of their obligation to maintain sustainable catch levels in the framework of Common Fisheries Policy, and urges them … Read more
Every Wednesday, a small scale fisherman is right outside the supermarket I usually go to, and sells his freshly caught fish. He is very friendly and I have sometimes fallen into conversation with him over fisheries in general. He is a bit pricy, but I think it’s worth supporting small scale fishermen compared to big … 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.
