It’s ICCAT time again!

It’s ICCAT time again! This week an international team of Oceana experts headed to Turkey to seek protection for sharks and swordfish, both of which are overfished, at the 22nd Regular Meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT). Wondering why an organization that specifies conserving tuna is the place to … Read more

Reforming EU fisheries subsidies

Several non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have engaged with issues surrounding fisheries subsidiesfor many years, including actively participating in discussions on EU fisheries subsidies and their reformsince the late 1990s. The reform of fisheries subsidies is also an important agenda item in the World TradeOrganization subsidy reform debate. While there have been some past successes in terms … Read more

Oceana: Ministers decisions on Baltic total allowable catches for 2012 are insufficient to end overfishing

TACs for Western Baltic Cod and Western Baltic Herring are too high to stop overfishing of those species. Five other species for which scientists had given advice to maintain or reduce catches remain without TACs for another year. Last Friday, the European Union’s fisheries Ministers met in Luxembourg at the Agriculture and Fisheries Council session … Read more

Investigative journalists take on subsidies, illegal fishing and seafood fraud in Spain

Last week, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists   (ICIJ) released 4 in depth articles, as part of their “Looting the Seas” project that we think are worth sharing with you. They are well researched good reads that delve deep into several real and worrying issues plaguing the European fishing sector, such as subsidies, Illegal fishing … Read more

How to save the Bluefin: a visual education

Check out this video we just spotted. What a great visual way to teach people about the plight of the bluefin tuna! Watch the video on YouTube (by HOWTOSAVETHEBLUEFIN)    

Commission proposal on fishing opportunities moves towards precautionary approach

Catch increases proposed for cod, anglerfish, haddock and Norway lobster are unjustified . Yesterday the European Commission published its proposal for 2012 Fishing Opportunities for exclusive EU stocks in the Northeast Atlantic, which are not subject to international agreements. Oceana considers that the proposed catch limits pave the way to stock recovery, although for most … Read more

Oceana supports large quota reductions for important Baltic stocks in 2012

Oceana remains troubled that the vast majority of Baltic fish species like seatrout, dab, brill, turbot and flounder remain largely unmanaged. Yesterday, the European Commission published their proposal for 2012 Total Allowable Catches (TACs) for some Baltic fish stocks. Oceana is urging the Commission and Member States to immediately halt fishing for red listed and … Read more

The European Union and Fishing Subsidies

The world’s oceans are nearing irreversible collapse. Most of the world’s fisheries are fully exploited or facing overexploitation and depletion. In Europe, the oceans are equally in crisis. Only a minority of commercially fished stocks have been assessed or are managed. Of the fish stocks that have been scientifically assessed, the majority are overfished. An … Read more

New Oceana report reveals true amount of EU fishing sector subsidies to be €3.3 billion

Oceana is calling for an immediate stop of all capacity enhancing fishing subsidies. Today, Oceana published a report on the true amount of subsidies provided to the fishing sector by the European Union (EU) and its Member States. The international marine conservation organization reveals that EU fisheries subsidies are more than three times greater than … Read more

Mercury rising: Seafood contamination and a consumer’s right to know

Mercury contamination in popular fish, industrial waste leaking into our oceans, years long legal battles to gain access to public information being kept hidden by the government – it sounds like the plot of a movie, but unfortunately, it’s just what we’ve been dealing with in our latest battle against seafood contamination in Spain and … Read more