Sustainable Fisheries Archives

Oceana demands response to fisheries collapse from european gobernments and shipowners

Subsidies for fisheries should be completely eliminated, except for those used for dismantling vessels and occupational conversion of fishermen. Oceana, the international marine research and conservation organisation, has just received a report published in Science magazine written by a group of prestigious international scientists supporting the opinions defended by the organisation for years; opinions that … Read more

Oceana calls for an agreement between Spain and Norway to chase illegal fishing

The continued detentions of fishing vessels under Spanish and other EU flags by Norwegian patrols in Northeast Atlantic waters highlight the weakness of fishing regulations to take on the offenders and the lack of political willpower to put an end to these legal loopholes. This year, the fishing vessels Arosa 9, Arosa 12 and Arosa … Read more

Oceana reports that the trial of fishing magnate Antonio Vidal has been set for October 30th in Miami

His lawyer is asking to be relieved from representing Vidal’s Uruguayan company due to a conflict of interest. Galician shipping magnate Antonio Vidal will have to face US justice on October 30th in Miami, accused of illegally importing toothfish (also known as deep-sea cod) and obstruction of justice. The district attorney is accusing the shipowner … Read more

Oceana believes the closed season for anchovy is too short

The poor state of the anchovy stock in the Cantabrian fishing grounds has once again obliged the European Commission to close them down for the second consecutive year. The aim is to try to alleviate the serious mistakes made by the French and Spanish governments which, despite opposition from scientists, allowed anchovy fishing to continue … Read more

Oceana calls for the closure of the “dirtiest” fisheries in the EU

A fleet of barely 20 fishing vessels manages to discard each year between 2,000 and 15,000 tonnes of anglerfish, generate more than 1,000 kilos of waste and “ghost nets” and overexploit stocks of anglerfish, deep-sea red crab and deep-sea sharks. Every day, more than 6,000 kilometres of fixed gillnets (known as rasco) are deployed in … Read more

The Galician Government subsidies “Monte Meixueiro”, one of the fishing vessels arrested by Norwegian patrols for illegal fishing

The detention by Norwegian patrols of two vessels flying Spanish flags, apprehended while catching Greenland halibut, has once again highlighted the wide-ranging practice of rogue fishing by companies that have received subsidies from Galician and Spanish authorities. One of the detained vessels, the Monte Meixueiro, belongs to the Vigo-based company Valiela, S.A., which has received … Read more

Oceana claims that more than 50% of european fisheries should be closed down immediately to prevent their collapse

Threatened species include sharks, rays, deep-sea fish, cod, hake, anchovy and eels. The international organisation for the defence of the seas, Oceana, has carried out a study on the state of the main fishing stocks in the waters of the North Atlantic to evaluate their situation. Based on the latest scientific evaluations, it has reviewed … Read more

European fisheries ministers set to betray the 2002 Common Fisheries Policy reform

At their meeting on 22-23 May, European Union Fisheries Ministers will meet to strike a deal on the European Fisheries Fund (EFF), which will determine how millions of euros of public funding should be spent on the European Fisheries sector over the next seven years. The Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) reform, agreed by Fisheries Ministers … Read more

Oceana calls on Fisheries Ministers to halt the decline in Europe’s fisheries

As the annual negotiations to set fishing quotas for next year approach, Oceana urges Ministers not to dodge the difficult decisions that need to be made in order to prevent the collapse of many stocks. In advance of the Fisheries Council meeting, the European Commission has tabled a timid set of proposals for 2006 quotas, … Read more

Oceana asks the World Trade Organisation to withdraw subsidies for destructive fisheries

At the ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) held in Hong Kong between 13 and 18 December, Oceana called on representatives of the countries present and the Director General of the WTO, Pascal Lamy, to put a stop to fishing subsidies that encourage overfishing and other destructive fishing practices. “In this respect, the … Read more