Sustainable Fisheries Archives

Enviromental NGOs criticize lack of public participation and transparency of Spanish government in World Fisheries Ministerial Conference

Madrid, Spain –. NGOs committed to the sustainable use and conservation of fisheries resources are concerned with the lack of transparency and communication of the Spanish Minister of the Environment, Rural and Marine Affairs, Elena Espinosa concerning preparations for the 5th World Conference of Fisheries Ministers (1) in Bayona, Spain, next week. The Spanish Government … Read more

Oceana asks the Spanish Minister for the Enviroment to support the inclusion of bluefin tuna in CITES

In a letter addressed to Joe Borg, the EU commissioner responsible for fisheries and maritime affairs, Xavier Pastor, the executive director of Oceana in Europe, asked Spain to support the proposal to include bluefin tuna in the CITES convention on endangered species. In the last month, various Member States, including those with interests in bluefin … Read more

European Union member states ignore their responsability to conserve bluefin tuna

Oceana and Marviva are disappointed at the irresponsible behaviour of EU member states in today rejecting support for the Monaco proposal to add bluefin tuna to CITES Appendix I. The proposal, which was intended to ban international trade in order to preserve the species, was strongly opposed by Mediterranean countries. Xavier Pastor, Executive Director for … Read more

Oceana and Marviva welcome a step forward in bluefin tuna protection

Last night, United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) decided to support Monaco’s proposal for listing Atlantic bluefin tuna on Appendix 1 of the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES). Oceana and MarViva welcome this important effort towards bluefin tuna conservation. Monaco proposal, if agreed in the upcoming Conference of the Parties … Read more

Oceana cautious os European Commision’s proposal for 2010 fishing opportunities

In a press conference today in Brussels, the European Commission presented its proposal for the 2010 fishing opportunities for Europe’s main commercial fish stocks. Oceana, the international marine conservation organization, considers that if more quota reductions are not decided in accordance with scientific advice, it will be impossible to recover the most overfished stocks. In … Read more

Adrift! Swordfish and driftnets in the Mediterranean Sea

In 2008, Oceana and MarViva collaborated in a campaign to definitively eliminate the use of driftnets in the Mediterranean. Banned by the United Nations more than 15 years ago, this gear is still being used and constitutes a serious threat for cetaceans, turtles and sharks. This fishery mainly targets the already overexploited swordfish stock which … Read more

“ICCAT countries sell out bluefin tuna to industry”, says Oceana

Recife (Brazil).- Today, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas agreed to weak management measures for bluefin tuna, ignoring the only acceptable measure that would have recovered this depleted stock: the total closure of the fishery. Xavier Pastor, Executive Director of Oceana in Europe remarked: “ICCAT’s credibility was in the hands of … Read more

Fishing opportunities for the European Community Fleet in the North East Atlantic for 2010

In October 2009, the European Commission presented its proposal for total admissible catch (TAC) and fishing effort for 2010 for the main fish species targeted by the Community fleet in the North East Atlantic. The EU Council of Fisheries Ministers will decide the fishing opportunities based on this proposal between December 14 and 16. TACs … Read more

ICCAT’s last chance to prove capable of controlling fisheries

The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) will meet in Recife, Brazil, next week to determine the future of commercially valuable bluefin tuna, whose populations have plummeted over recent decades. ICCAT is also expected to take up the issue of controlling shark catches and finning as agreed upon at the Second Joint … Read more

Oceana denounces Xunta de Galicia insists to grant €4 million subsidies to fishing pirates

Today the international marine conservation organization Oceana is publishing a case study with two letters, revealing that the European Commission any direct responsibility for subsidies, to spend under the European Fisheries Fund for a company, closely linked to IUU fishing (Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported) and the Xunta de Galicia find no legal reason for not … Read more