Driftnets Archives

Oceana warns of suspicious interactions between italian driftnetters and purse-seiners at tuna-fattering farms in sicilian waters

During the Oceana Ranger’s recent expedition in the Tyrrhenian Sea, the crew on board the environmental organisation’s catamaran witnessed an interaction between illegal driftnetters and large purse-seiners congregating around the tuna fattening cages to the north of the Aeolian Islands in Sicily. This situation could well be taking place at other tuna-fattening farms. Once the … Read more

Oceana reports dozens of illegal italian driftnetters fishing in the Thyrrenian Sea

Along the last three weeks, the Oceana Ranger catamaran has sailed a thousand miles in the Thyrrenian sea, close to the south Italian and Sicilian coasts. The Ranger crew has been able to report the activity of dozens of fishing boats using driftnets which were banned by the European Union four years ago. These boats … Read more

Oceana intercepts two italian boats fishing with illegal driftnets

Last Friday, the research catamaran Oceana Ranger intercepted two boats using driftnets, which were fishing making use of that gear, which is prohibited by the European Union, and which even violates the contradictory Italian legislation. The Oceana boat was anchored in the port of Ponza in the late afternoon of last Thursday when it observed … Read more

Spanish musician Miguel Bosé boards the Oceana Ranger to combat drfitnet use

Miguel Bose participated for a week in the actitivities of Oceana, the international conservation organisation. The singer joined the catamaran, Oceana Ranger, during its stay in the Corsican harbour of Bastia, to work with its crew of biologists, divers and campaigners. He joined the Ranger directly from Peru where, for the previous weeks, he had … Read more

Oceana patrolling the Mediterranean in search of illegal drifnetters

At midnight Oceana’s research catamaran left the harbour of Portoferraio in Elba and headed to the fishing grounds of the Western Mediterranean, where a fleet of dozens of Italian fishing boats continue to use driftnets, in defiance of the European Union ban. Driftnets were banned from 2002 because of their total lack of selectivity and … Read more

Millions of euros from EU funds have been spent on the financing of driftnets, despite the fact that these are prohibited

The EU Council of Fisheries Ministers is to debate next week the management of Mediterranean fisheries. Oceana condemns the fact that the EU has spent tens of millions of Euros in its attempt to eliminate driftnets, yet there are still some 200 European fishing boats that continue to use them. “European citizens are being swindled … Read more

Oceana provokes the arrest of illegal driftnetters by italian coastguards

On some occasions, the activities of these vessels have extended into Spanish waters. The research catamaran of the Oceana organisation, the Ranger, has been carrying out “in situ” surveillance of the illegal Italian driftnet fleet since the beginning of July, which operates out of bases in Sicily, Sardinia, around Naples and Sorrento, and the small … Read more

The Mediterranean still struggles with driftnets

A few days ago, over 3 km of illegal driftnets were seized in Italy. It’s amazing, and disturbing that more than a decade after a driftnet ban was put in place in the EU – we are still seeing regular cases of infractions, particularly by the Italian fleet. Driftnets do not discriminate. The enormous nets … Read more

Closing September with a bang!

Last week was a good week for us at Oceana as we closed the month of September with a bang! It’s been a month of victories and good for our work here in Europe, and there is nothing more rewarding than realizing that our efforts are actually making a difference. We therefore thought we’d highlight … Read more

Oceana demands a transparent and conclusive process from Morocco to eliminate driftnets

Oceana celebrates the step forward taken by Moroccan authorities to comply with international legislation and demands that the process of eliminating driftnets be transparent and conclusive. For years Oceana has documented and lodged complaints about the presence of these illegal nets in ports such as Tangier, Nador and Al Hoceima, for the fishing of swordfish, … Read more