Italian government keeps challenging EU driftnet ban

With a letter today addressed to Commissioners Dimas and Borg, Oceana, the international marine conservation organization, has called for an end to the illegal use of an Italian driftnet called ferrettara.    The letter, which follows a recent formal complaint submitted by Oceana to the European Commission, provides evidence of the illegal catch of vulnerable … Read more

Oceana Recommendations for the ICCAT Commission meeting November 2008

Most of large pelagic species like tuna, sharks and swordfish are overfished in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea, due to the extremely high prices their meat or fins can reach in most of world’s markets. Bluefin tuna is on the verge of collapse due to overfishing, mismanagement and illegal fishing, Sharks are extremely vulnerable … Read more

Hungry oceans. What happens when the prey is gone?

According to conventional wisdom, small, fast-growing fish are impossible to overfish because their populations are so large and grow so quickly. Yet we are now seeing disquieting signs that conventional wisdom is wrong. Most significantly, scientists are reporting ocean predators emaciated from lack of food, vulnerable to disease and without enough energy to reproduce. Scrawny … Read more

Enviromental NGOs urge Fisheries Ministers to expedite “new scenario fo ocean life”

Baiona, Spain –.The environmental organizations, Ecologistas en Acción, Greenpeace, Oceana, Seas At Risk and WWF present in Baiona (Spain) at the Ministerial gathering of 47 countries from the five continents[i]  emphasize   the ministers’ recognition that “a new scenario for the seas and the oceans” is urgently needed and that the chronic overcapacity of fishing fleets … Read more

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