Oceana: EU’s last chance to fulfil the law and stop overfishing

On 16-17 December, the Agriculture and Fisheries Council of the EU (“Agrifish”) will decide on  fishing limits in EU Atlantic waters and the North Sea for 2020. For the first time, measures will be approved for Western Mediterranean waters as well. Oceana urges ministers to meet this final extension of the legal deadline to stop … Read more

Using “big data” to evaluate MPA effectiveness – the case of reefs in EU

The study looked into the fishing activity across marine Nature 2000 sites having a focus on variety of protected features protected by the Habitats Directive. Significant incompatible fishing activity was observed inside Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) across all of the European Union (EU), particularly within reef and sandbank habitats types (codes 1170 and 1110).This poster summarizes … Read more

EU Mediterranean plan to allow trawling in fish nurseries

The European Parliament approved today in a plenary vote the first multiannual plan for demersal stocks (fish that live and feed near the sea bottom) for the Western Mediterranean Sea. With 461 votes in favor and 62 against, the legal obligation of reaching sustainable fishing by 2020 at the latest, as agreed under the Common Fisheries … Read more

France, Spain and Italy unite to breach EU fisheries law

The European Parliament’s Committee on Fisheries (PECH) formally adopted today a political agreement on a multiannual plan for demersal species (mostly found at the bottom of the ocean) in the western Mediterranean Sea. The plan will not end overfishing by 2020 but will now extend the sustainable fishing deadline to 2025, therefore failing to rebuild … Read more

Western Mediterranean: Overfishing crisis: act now, or lose it forever

The Mediterranean Sea is one of the world’s most important seas. However, it is currently the world’s most overfished sea, with more than 90% of stocks fished above what is considered sustainable (i.e. above Maximum Sustainable Yield, or MSY). In the Western Mediterranean alone, overfishing affects 80% of demersal fish stocks, which live and feed … Read more