ICCAT: Overview

The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) is an international body responsible for the conservation and management of tuna and tuna-like species in the Atlantic Ocean and adjacent waters, such as the Mediterranean Sea.  ICCAT is principally concerned with fishes such as tunas and swordfish, and is also responsible for species caught … Read more

Oceana declares European Commission proposal to reduce catch insufficient

Oceana calls on the Council of Ministers to correct these deficiencies and guarantee the sustainable exploitation of fishery resources. Oceana applauds the Total Allowable Catch (TAC) reduction the European Commission presented yesterday in Brussels to regulate fishing of the EU’s most important species in 2011. However, the international marine conservation organisation believes that, in some … Read more

Oceana calls for protection of ocean’s top predators at upcoming international fisheries meeting

Oceana, the world’s largest international ocean conservation organization, is calling for the protection of the ocean’s top predators at the 17th Special Meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) in Paris, France, November 17 to 27. Specifically, Oceana is seeking protections for several vulnerable and overexploited species vital to maintaining … Read more

ICCAT Improves Conservation Measures for Sharks and Sea Turtles

Though failing to improve protections for bluefin tuna, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) increased the number of shark species prohibited for retention in ICCAT fisheries. Specifically, the group improved conservation measures for oceanic whitetip sharks, hammerhead sharks and shortfin mako sharks. In addition, ICCAT put in place new measures to … Read more

Tun’Up for Tuna: Put YOUR face on the fight for bluefin

The countdown to ICCAT is coming up – for those of you who don’t know much about it, keep an eye on our blog this month, we’ll be sharing tidbits about the conference, the important issues at stake and the fate of some of our favorite marine animals: the bluefin tuna, the swordfish and the … Read more

Bluefin Tuna’s fate in Slippery Hands

On Tuesday this week, the European Union fisheries ministers met in Luxembourg to discuss their position for the upcoming meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) – they rejected the EU Executive arm’s proposal to cut the Bluefin tuna quota for 2011. The Mediterranean countries (including France, Spain, Greece and … Read more

Biodiversity Summit week 1 recap

The Biodiversity Summit in Japan is kicking off week 2 and we thought we’d give you a recap with some highlights and news stories from last week. The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity released a report highlighted the enourmous (but necessary) cost of altering the global economy to put value on forests, reefs and other … Read more

Biodiversity

Today, delegates from over 190 nations are converging at the UN Convention on Biological Diversity meeting in Nagoya, Japan. For 2 weeks, they will be discussing ways to curb the erosion of biodiversity on the planet. Ryo Matsumoto, Japan’s Environment Minister said “we are now close to a ‘tipping point’ – that is, we are … Read more

Oceana urges zero tolerance for driftnets in the Mediterranean in 2011

Oceana estimates that over 500 vessels have operated illegally in the Mediterranean, some with nets up to 20 kilometres long. Oceana, the international marine conservation organisation, calls for a Mediterranean free of drift nets for 2011, and urges all Member States to take a zero tolerance position on this type of destructive fishing gear. For … Read more