Legacy: Driftnets
Oceana exposes illegal driftnet fisheries, while Italy denies it
Oceana observers, together with a cameraman from Reportime (Corriere della Sera), have gathered evidence of fishing boats using illegal driftnets in southern Italy’s port of Bagnara Calabra, as published today on Corriere della Sera by Report journalist Sabrina Giannini. This destructive fishing gear has been banned in the EU since 2002, due to high by-catch … Read more
Oceana reveals illegal driftnet fishing in Morocco
Morocco officially phased out driftnets in 2010 with funding from the EU and US Oceana today revealed that the illegal use of driftnets to capture swordfish has returned to Tangiers, Morocco. Evidence gathered by the international marine conservation organization over the past three days, shows small-scale vessels acting in coordination with larger ones with absolute … Read more
Oceana says EU should act against true ‘walls of death’
Driftnet fishing for large pelagic species is banned due to high by-catch rates of endangered species. Today, the European Commission announced its proposal to ban all types of driftnets from operating in European waters. The measure is aimed at eliminating alleged loopholes that allow illegal fishing with driftnets to continue. However, according to Oceana, the … Read more
Oceana presents evidence and recommendations in Brussels for the fight against illegal fishing within the european fleet
In 2007, Oceana identified more than 100 vessels using illegal driftnets. Oceana presented two reports in Brussels today: “Italian driftnets: the illegal fishing activities continue” and “Thonaille: the use of driftnets by the French fleet in the Mediterranean”. Both reports condemn the continued use of this illegal fishing gear by the French and Italian fleets … Read more
French driftnetters will not fish in 2008
Driftnets, a fishing gear that can reach dozens of kilometres in length, were prohibited in the European Union in 2002 because they constitute a threat to the conservation of cetaceans, sea turtles and sharks. Oceana has reported that Italy and France continue using this illegal fishing gear to capture bluefin tuna and swordfish, years after … Read more
Oceana intercepts a moroccan driftnetter fishing inside the Alboran Island reserve
Last Thursday, at seven in the evening, the Oceana Ranger research catamaran, property of the international marine conservation organisation Oceana, detected a Moroccan fishing vessel nine miles east of Alboran Island, setting an illegal driftnet measuring over five meters in length in Spanish waters and within the Alboran fishing reserve. The Ranger was in the … Read more
Morocco promotes the plan to eliminate driftnets from their fleet
In 2006, the marine research and conservation organization, Oceana, undertook a campaign against the use with driftnets in the Mediterranean. Investigators documented swordfish fisheries carried out by Moroccan vessels with driftnets in waters of the Alboran Sea, and the presence of this destructive fishing gear in Moroccan ports. Xavier Pastor, Executive Director of Oceana in … Read more
Oceana welcomes another step forward on the long road to eliminate illegal driftnets in the European Union
Last year, on the initiative of Fisheries Commissioner Joe Borg, the European Commission presented a proposal to introduce a full definition of a driftnet. A number of driftnet fleets, including the French thonaillers have exploited the lack of a definition to flout the EU driftnet ban and continue using their illegal gear. This new definition … Read more
Oceana identifies 84 italian driftnetters during its 2007 campaign
Based on the preliminary results, Oceana is asking for the repeal of the Italian decree authorising the use of the driftnets known as ferrettara. Driftnets, banned by the European Union since 2002, continue to pose a threat to the conservation of marine mammals and fish stocks in the waters of the Tyrrhenian Sea. The international … Read more
