Today, stakeholders, including Oceana, the international marine conservation organization, gathered at the European Commission to exchange views on the issue of discards. Currently, due to the lack of proper regulations by the EU and Member States, and the complicity of the fishing industry, around 1,3 million tonnes of marine resources, representing 13% of total catches, … Read more
Oceana welcomes the long awaited EU 2020 Biodiversity Strategy, presented at a press conference today by Commissioner Janez Poto?nik, which reaffirms the EU’s intention to halt the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services by 2020. Fisheries are obviously a critical area of this Strategy, which also covers restoration of the marine environment. However, Oceana questions … Read more
The effective enforcement of the new rules applied to the EU Fisheries Control regulation will encourage a culture of compliance, simplify the application of control rules and harmonize standards for inspections and sanctions. The credibility of the Common Fisheries Policy depends on all of these elements. “The reformed Common Fisheries Policy must at its core … Read more
The Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) is the basic management tool for the fishery and aquaculture sector in the European Union. The current CFP (Council Regulation 2371/2002) entered into force on 1 January 2003 and constituted the reform of the previous fisheries policy that established the fisheries guidelines of the previous twenty years. It was at the … Read more
The Importance of Addressing By-Catch and Discard Management. In Europe around 1,3 million tonnes of marine fish are discarded every year, representing 13% of total catches. Because in most cases discards do not survive, the negative ramifications of this enormous waste of marine resources are severe. The unnecessary death of juvenile and mature individuals of … Read more
Oceana, the leading international organisation dedicated exclusively to the protection and recovery of the seas, is participating on 26 and 27 April in a meeting of experts in Geneva on fishing subsidies and sustainable fisheries management, convened by the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) on Fisheries. The meeting, which is being held in Geneva, the … Read more
For decades, politicians have been ignoring scientific advice on preventing the collapse of the North-East Atlantic fisheries. Despite the numerous alarms raised by scientists for years, the quotas agreed by politicians at Fisheries Ministers’ Councils have repeatedly disregarded these warnings. For 2004, recommendations were to reduce anchovy catches to just 11,000 tonnes and yet 33,000 … Read more
Some populations of deep-sea fish should be regarded as “endangered”: substantial cutbacks in their catches may not be enough to protect them. From orange roughy more than 150 years old to deep-sea sharks of 80, from hermaphrodite seabream to bioluminescent creatures, many species from the depths of the oceans have come to represent a target … Read more
Following years of campaign work by Oceana, the United States, New Zealand, Argentina, Australia, Chile, Iceland and Norway released a joint statement that was submitted to the WTO calling for a reduction in fisheries subsidies. Read the full statement here.
Mackerel’s been quite a hot topic over the past few months. You may remember last year’s “Mackerel Wars” between Iceland (and the Faroe Islands) and the EU. Unfortunately, Mackerel isn’t only overfished up north. The Commission recently reprimanded Spain for going over its 2010 allocated mackerel quota by 79% or 19,621 tons. The Spanish fleet’s … 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.
