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
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
Unfortunately the Baltic is at the same time one of the most polluted seas in the world, due to exploitation and economic activities. Unsustainable fisheries are one of the most urgent threats to the Baltic fish stocks. Destructive fishing practices, like bottom trawling, high levels of by-catch and illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing all … Read more
Oceana focused primarily on two seamounts, Nao Mound and Morrot de Formentera. In the former, we found deep gorgonian gardens and crustaceans of commercial interest, while Morrot boasted an abundance of fish and the presence of ancient cold water coral reefs. Both seamounts host habitats and species that are subject to protection under laws currently … 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
During a number of oceanographic campaigns, Oceana has focused part of its research on documenting the sea beds of the Balearic archipelago, in order to determine the importance of the habitats and species present there and request the establishment of the most adequate protection and management measures. Given the ecological and economic importance of these … 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
Studies concerning marine species and habitats in the Canary Islands are scarce and limited to a few meters depth. The archipelago’s narrow continental shelf has limited the knowledge of ecosystems to just a few miles from the coast. A clear example of this is that only 0.15% of the archipelago is protected. The location of … Read more
The marine environment of the Doñana site is, as occurs in the terrestrial domain, an exceptional site for biodiversity. Situated in the gulf of Cadiz, at the confluence of special geographic, oceanographic and environmental characteristics, the marine area of Doñana is a place of enormous strategic and biological productivity. It is of great importance for … 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.
