A short distance offshore, the seabed drops by 3,000 metres, and this wide bathymetric range gives rise to a great variety of habitats and species in a relatively small space. Many of these creatures are extremely fragile or difficult to find elsewhere. In the waters of El Hierro we find animals such as the loggerhead … Read more
UPDATE 17/11-2020 – Victory: Spanish Supreme Court ruled in favour of Oceana regarding the appeal from fishermen against Cabrera National Park enlargement. The expansion by 10 times of the National Marine Park of Cabrera, in the Balearic Islands (Spain) was approved in February 2019 by the Council of Ministers. It was however immediately appealed by a fishermen’s … Read more
According to the Law on National Parks, a total of 13 natural marine systems should be represented in the network to ensure an adequate legacy for future generations. However, although 2016 was the one hundredth anniversary of the establishment of the network, some of these systems are still under-represented, while others are totally absent from the … Read more
EU fisheries ministers continue to disregard science and to overfish stocks on the basis of short-sighted socio-economic arguments. It is undeniable that the Union’s Member States must act immediately to stop overfishing and to recover all stock above healthy levels by 2020, at the latest. To achieve this objective, an effective protection of Essential Fish … Read more
The North Sea has provided us with treasures for centuries. It’s about time we gave some back. Together we can #StopOverfishing! Into the North – #StopOverfishing from Oceana on Vimeo. Oceana acknowledges the generous support of EU LIFE Programme. The backbone of the #StopOverfishing campaign is Oceana’s 2016 study on European fisheries. It was commissioned … Read more
To get the full picture of European fisheries, Oceana commissioned the most comprehensive scientific study ever made on the status of European fish stocks and their potential productivity if sustainably managed. The findings of this independent study confirms that only a minority of European stocks can be considered as well managed, and although there is … Read more
Western Baltic Cod is suffering from high overfishing and the stock currently exhibits dangerously low biomass levels. Cod is an iconic species and plays a key role in the Baltic Sea, both environmentally and commercially, thus Oceana believes that its recovery should be a top priority. Oceana calls for a temporary but total closure of … Read more
The North-East Atlantic Ocean is characterised by a variety of topographical features, ranging from ocean basins of around 5000 meters in depth near the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, to waters less than 200m deep on the continental shelf along the European coast. In some places, seamounts occur as submerged single mountains or chains of mountains along the … Read more
The distribution of many coral species remains unknown today. The well known species are the ones that are commercially exploited, but there are many little known or completely unknown species with unlikely geographical distributions. Apart from direct harvesting of some species, other factors also negatively affect coral populations, including bottom trawling and the climate change, both due … Read more
Of the 307 shark species assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), 50 are listed as vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered, but only the white whale and basking sharks are protected internationally under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Sharks now represent the greatest percentage of threatened marine species … Read more
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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.
