The Biodiversity Summit in Japan is kicking off week 2 and we thought we’d give you a recap with some highlights and news stories from last week. The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity released a report highlighted the enourmous (but necessary) cost of altering the global economy to put value on forests, reefs and other … Read more
Today, delegates from over 190 nations are converging at the UN Convention on Biological Diversity meeting in Nagoya, Japan. For 2 weeks, they will be discussing ways to curb the erosion of biodiversity on the planet. Ryo Matsumoto, Japan’s Environment Minister said “we are now close to a ‘tipping point’ – that is, we are … Read more
Every day, more than 6,000 kilometres of fixed gillnets (‘rasco’ or anglerfish nets) are deployed in the waters of the North-East Atlantic to catch anglerfish, deep-sea red crab and deep-sea sharks. The poor selectivity of these nets, together with the length of time they are left in the water, means that many of the creatures … Read more
On the occasion of the EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council meeting on 23 and 24 April, Oceana calls attention to the complete absence of regulations in EU waters to reduce the problem of bycatch and discards, which amount to over 3,000 tonnes every day. Discard is defined by the FAO as “the portion of … Read more
Oceana denounces the severe deterioration of Europe’s oceans and seas and calls for immediate measures to halt the collapse of fish resources, the destruction of marine habitats and the pollution affecting its waters. On World Environment Day (5 June) and World Oceans Day (8 June), Oceana points out that European seas are among the most … Read more
In October 2009, the European Commission presented its proposal for total admissible catch (TAC) and fishing effort for 2010 for the main fish species targeted by the Community fleet in the North East Atlantic. The EU Council of Fisheries Ministers will decide the fishing opportunities based on this proposal between December 14 and 16. TACs … Read more
This week, the European Union is closing their public consultation for a reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) from 2012. Oceana is asking the European Commission to focus the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy on improving the balance and the health of the oceans. Healthy oceans are not only a prerequisite for fisheries … Read more
Oceana’s ongoing efforts to increase funding for the fishery observer program continue to produce results. Observers are trained monitors who count everything that is caught by a fishing vessel, including discarded fish, sea turtles and marine mammals. Observers are our eyes on the ocean and provide important information for fishery managers. In 2009, Congress appropriated … Read more
The world’s largest fishery, Alaska’s pollock industry, accidentally catches and kills king salmon, an important species both commercially and ecologically. Accidentally killing and catching non-targeted species is known as “bycatch,” and 7 million kg of unwanted and wasted fish are thrown back into the water every year. After pressure from Oceana and its allies, the … Read more
Thanks largely to Oceana’s efforts, the U.S. Congress doubled the funding available for fishery observer programs in the 2004 federal budget from approximately $14 million to more than $29 million. This included significant increases for Oceana’s top regional priorities, the New England and west coast groundfish fisheries. Since then, Oceana’s efforts have successfully maintained these … 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.
