Denmark Proposed Marine Protected Areas in Kattegat

Denmark presented plans for six new marine protected areas (MPAs) in Kattegat, which connects the Baltic and North Seas. The new MPAs will be protected from dangerous human activity, such as bottom trawling, which disturbs seafloor habitat. The new MPAs have been selected in part from Oceana’s findings of rare Haploops crustaceans and horse mussel … Read more

Expeditions paying off in Kattegat

In October 2014, the Danish government published a new report – a plan for the Danish Nature. As a marine NGO, Oceana was of course highly interested in seeing how much the plan dealt with the marine environment, but it really was a pleasure to learn that the marine environment was not neglected in the … Read more

Marine litter is growing problem in the World’s oceans

On Saturday, Oceana joined a research expedition arranged and led by the University of Örebro and Pangaea Exploration to study marine litter in the Baltic Sea, an increasing problem in the world’s oceans. During the course of a month, this expedition will visit several key areas of the Baltic Sea, all the way from Kattegat, … Read more

Oceana launches website to gather data on unwell fish in the Baltic Sea

Today, Oceana has launched a website with the aim of compiling information on the issue of sick, dead and disappearing fish in the Baltic Sea. The creation of a database such as this will hopefully increase available knowledge and help researchers and authorities to carry out further studies on this worrying issue.  Reports from fishermen, … Read more

Big Waves, Big Plans

On Sunday morning, we left Sandhamn and sailed northwest to the Gulf of Bothnia where we will carry out more research on marine litter in the Baltic Sea. On board, we are divided into watch teams. This way, everyone takes their turn to work and carry out daily tasks, despite being as inexperienced in sailing … Read more

Sailing through the Baltic on the Sea Dragon

I was invited to take part in a research expedition in the Baltic Sea arranged by Örebro University and Pangaea Exploration, which I gratefully said yes to. The expedition has been running since the beginning of August, but I joined them on Saturday. So now I find myself miles from the nearest coast, on board … Read more

Scientists recommend largest cut in baltic cod fisheries in years

Today, the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES) delivered its advice for 2015 catches in the Baltic Sea, including the largest cuts in total allowable catches for cod in years. This move comes after ICES scientists  reported a particularly worrying development for eastern Baltic cod: While over the past few years, the … Read more