Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing is a problem that affects the ocean worldwide and costs the global economy tens of billions of euros every year. It destroys marine habitats, adds pressure to fish populations that are already at risk of over-exploitation and undermines efforts to responsibly manage and protect the ocean. IUU fishing exploits … Read more
Species living at these depths have adapted to a cold, dark environment, with few nutrients. As a consequence, they are characterised by slow growth rates, late sexual maturity, few offspring and long lifespans. This makes them highly vulnerable to overfishing, because their capacity to recover from depletion is very limited. Deep-sea rays and sharks are … Read more
However, the number of a Mediterranean swordfish has plummeted to critical levels. More than 3 decades of overfishing swordfish in this area has left stocks at only 30% in 2016, with no sign of a recovery. Many swordfish caught in these waters are too young (juvenile, in fishing terms) to be able to reproduce, putting … Read more
According to the World Bank and the FAO (The Sunken Billions revisited, 2017), global marine fishing loses account for US$83billion each year, but this figure could be reversed if correct management measures were applied. Along the same lines, the recent study Exploitation and status of European stocks conducted by Dr. Rainer Froese on behalf of … Read more
These seamounts also harbor a variety of habitats that should be protected given their high productivity and/or degree of threat, such as coralline beds, bamboo coral beds, rhodolith beds and deep-sea sponge fields, among others. In addition, species of commercial interest like crabs and fish depend on habitats located in this area and some of … Read more
Seamounts are biodiversity hotspots. Oceana’s work in Seco de Olivos confirmed that the area is home to vulnerable species like red coral, various species of black coral and the angular roughshark—which is in danger of extinction in the Mediterranean. It’s waters are also a migratory area for numerous types of cetaceans and it is a … Read more
The proposal includes a wide variety of sites, such as seamounts, banks, canyons, slopes, trenches, ridges, mud volcanoes, gas seeps, carbonate mounts, etc. Although these habitats are less well-known than seagrass beds or coral reefs, they are equally important. The CBD considers that the proposed sites are important enough from a biological and … Read more
Within the coastal region, the people inhabiting the area have had centuries of interactions with the marine environment. Persistent fisheries targeting bluefin tuna during their spawning migrations into the Mediterranean have been established since antiquity. As a result of intense fishing and large coastal populations, pollution is of particular concern in the region. Recent fish … 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.
