Today is the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, and we don’t want to miss this opportunity to thank the women of Oceana who work so hard every day for the ocean. Marine scientists, biologists… whatever their academic specialisation, they spend their working days sailing, analysing underwater footage, reviewing documents, scrutinising data, drafting proposals, writing papers, attending seminars, debating with politicians, discussing with fishers, campaigning at international fora, giving media interviews and many other things that are too much for a single paragraph.
It was in 2005 that Oceana in Europe received a very special gift: the Oceana Ranger, the catamaran that was to become our research vessel enabling us to get first-hand information about the situation of the seas and the creatures living in them. But we wanted more in-depth intelligence on what was going on down there, and in 2006 we started to work with an underwater robot or Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV).
What is the best month to go on an expedition? Well, that depends on where you want to go and what you want to see. If you check Oceana in Europe's website or our recently launched story map, you’ll discover the answer is actually any month – apart from December.
[Extracto de un artículo publicado originalmente en la revista Mar, “Devolver el adjetivo de ‘sostenible’ a la gestión pesquera”]
Despite its name, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) is in in charge of ensuring the sustainable management of many fish species including sharks. Over the last few decades, catches of commercially fished sharks have continually increased, however no proper management measures have been put in place and catches continue to be unregulated.