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
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
The EU Fisheries Council will meet 14-15 December to agree the 2010 TACs (Total Allowable Catches) for Community fleets. Oceana, the international marine conservation organization, is calling on Fisheries Ministers to end all fishing for porbeagle and spurdog sharks, both Critically Endangered[1] in European waters, as well as that for endangered skates and rays. Setting … Read more
The meeting of the EU Council of Fisheries Ministers concluded yesterday night with agreements on total allowable catches (TACs) and country quotas for the Community fleet next year. The agreements reached confirm this Council’s inability to protect and manage fishery resources. Most of the decisions ignore the scientific recommendations made by the International Council for … Read more
This week, the European Union is closing their public consultation for a reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) from 2012. Oceana is asking the European Commission to focus the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy on improving the balance and the health of the oceans. Healthy oceans are not only a prerequisite for fisheries … Read more
Today it’s all about last-day expectations. All important discussions have been put off for today’s plenary. The reopening of the bluefin tuna, sharks and corals debates will depend upon the support of the parties. Today we may obtain more protection for more species… or be doomed to lose them. Finally CITES failed to ban the … Read more
Today all four shark proposals were debated. Unfortunately, only one was approved. The proposals to protect hammerhead sharks, oceanic whitetips and the spurdog were rejected. The good news is that the proposal to protect the porbeagle was agreed! This is a large, migratory and warm blooded shark. It´s meat is heavily consumed in Europe. The … Read more
Today the European Parliament adopted a Resolution recommending a strong EU conservation position at the upcoming CITES Conference of the Parties (COP), to be held in Qatar in March. The Resolution calls on EU Member States and the Commission to support an international bluefin tuna trade ban, and strong commercial measures for endangered sharks and … Read more
Tomorrow proposals for protection of 8 shark species will be discussed. We are very excited cause it seems that there is a will to reach an agreement. Some fishing countries, like Spain, seem to be in favour of these proposals and everyone, including countries envolved in shark fisheries and trade, acknowledge that there is a … Read more
This morning, Sunday, we were back to work. The EU finally organized a coordination meeting with the NGOs, thanks pushing by our colleague from the office in Brussels! We didn´t get much information out of it. Bluefin didn´t get discussed at all, sharks were all good since the EU supports all proposals, and the same … Read more
Sign up today to get weekly updates and action alerts from Oceana.
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.
