The fishing industry in the European Union (EU) receives a significant amount of government subsidies, which have promoted the overcapacity of European fishing fleets, resulting in overfishing1, and rendering fisheries in many European countries unprofitable and a poor investment for taxpayers. In 2011, Oceana released a study estimating the total expenditure in fishing sector subsidies … Read more
Last night, Fisheries Ministers passed one of the last hurdles in the negotiations on the reformed European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) by reaching an agreement on the criteria that will be used to determine how the money will be allocated and spent. While Oceana was pleased to see Ministers steer clear of reintroducing subsidies … Read more
Today, after a year and a half of negotiations, the Fisheries Committee of the European Parliament failed to match the new fisheries subsidies mechanism to the ambitious reformed Common Fisheries Policy. In their vote on the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF), the representatives of European citizens refused to seize the opportunity to create a … Read more
Once again, we’ve uncovered a disturbing amount of hidden subsidies to the EU’s fishing sector. You may remember in 2011, we calculated that a staggering 3.3 billion Euros in subsidies had gone from the EU to its Member State industries in just one year (2009). This year, we decided to take a look at state … Read more
Since 2000 fisheries subsidies in the EU have totaled € 12,9 billion. Today, Oceana released the results of a six-month study on the expenditure made by EU Member States in subsidies to the fishing sector since 2000. The report shows that they have granted €4,9 billion in the form of state aid to their fishing … Read more
On some occasions, the activities of these vessels have extended into Spanish waters. The research catamaran of the Oceana organisation, the Ranger, has been carrying out “in situ” surveillance of the illegal Italian driftnet fleet since the beginning of July, which operates out of bases in Sicily, Sardinia, around Naples and Sorrento, and the small … Read more
As of 6 July, 2013, all sharks caught in European waters or by European vessels will have to be landed with their fins still naturally attached. Celebrating the arrival of the long-awaited, strict EU ban on shark finning, Oceana welcomes the new EU regulation’s entry into effect, on Saturday. It ends nearly a decade of … Read more
WASHINGTON _ Former Colombian President César Gaviria, whose 10-year leadership of the Organization of American States (OAS) revitalized that hemispheric institution, today joined the fight for healthy seas around the world by becoming a member of the Board of Directors of Oceana, the only international conservation group solely dedicated to ocean protection. “As Arvid Pardo, … Read more
As the negotiations on the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) reach a crucial point in the European Parliament, there are reports that Alain Cadec, the French Member of Parliament in charge of the file, is seeking an agreement directly with the Member States, and thus trying to bypass the opportunity for a detailed discussion … Read more
Oceana has asked the EU to maintain the 2007 deadline for the elimination of the obsolete mercury cell technology in chlorine-alkaline plants and to put a similar programme to the one used by the United States into operation, by 2008, in order to put an end to one of the leading sources of mercury pollution. … 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.
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