Sustainable Fisheries Archives

The fishing grounds off the Iberian penninsula, the west of Ireland and the North Sea are those in the worst state

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

Orange roughy, bioluminescent fish and other deep-sea species are now a commercial target due to the scarcity of traditional fisheries

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

Countries Release Joint Statement on Overfishing Subsidies

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 Friday: Spain overshoots 2010 quota by 79%

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

1.3 Million tons of wasted fish a year: What’s being done about it?

1.3 Million Tons – That’s how many marine fish (and other organisms) are discarded and dumped overboard (dead most often than not) by EU fishermen every year. The amount of waste, which represents 13% of the total catch, is difficult to fathom, and even more so at a time when we are fighting so hard … Read more

Oceana calls for a ban on discards based on a by-catch quotas system

Oceana welcomes the informal proposal of a gradual ban discard presented this afternoon by the European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Maria Damanaki, to the Member States. Though the purpose of this meeting was not to make a final management proposal of discards, Oceana applauds this new attempt to discuss this issue and urges … Read more

Oceana warns that true extent of oceans’ depletion remains unknown

In two years’ time, the percentage of fully exploited, overexploited or depleted stocks has risen from 80% to 85% Oceana, the international marine conservation organisation, highlights the urgent need for better scientific data on worldwide fish stocks, following last night’s release of the Food and Agriculture Organisation’s (FAO) report on the State of World Fisheries … Read more

Oceana strictly opposes subsidies for the construction of new fishing vessels

Re-flagged EU fleet activities in developing countries lack transparency and operate outside EU fisheries laws or official Fisheries Partnership Agreements. Oceana, the international marine conservation organisation, strongly opposes fishing subsidies for capacity enhancing and the construction of new vessels. Currently, 80 percent of the world’s fish stocks are overexploited, fully exploited, significantly depleted or recovering … Read more

EU Fisheries Ministers’ 2011 TAC decision dismisses scientific advice; hampers progress towards rebuilding of overexploited stocks

Total stated catch reduction of around 5% is highly insufficient to rectify current levels of overexploiting – according to scientists only 11 stocks are not overfished. Yesterday night the EU Council of Fisheries Ministers reached an agreement on the 2011 Total Allowable Catches (TAC) and quotas for the main fishing stocks exploited by the community … Read more

Oceana urges European fishing Ministers to guarantee the sustainable exploitation of fishery resources

The population status of many commercial species, including Atlantic cod and herring, is already alarming. Oceana, the international marine conservation organization, strongly urges the Council of Ministers not to water down the European Commission’s proposal on fishing opportunities for 2011 during negotiations on December 13th and 14th. Because the current proposal is already insufficient to … Read more