Being one of the busiest seas in the world, the Mediterranean is also a sea where illicit fishing activities still go unnoticed and thus unpunished…until now. Most of the cases of illegal fishing that make news in Europe seem to happen in far flung regions such as the Pacific or even the Antarctic. But such … Read more
Fisheries Restricted Areas (FRAs) are spatial management measures adopted under the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean and Black Sea (GFCM) to regulate or restrict demersal fisheries in the high seas. Since 2006, a total of six FRAs have been established in the GFCM area, each under different management objectives. Three were established to protect … Read more
What is an Essential Fish Habitat? An Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) is a habitat identifi ed as crucial to the ecological and biological requirements for the critical life cycle of exploited fi sh species, and which may require special protection to improve stock status and long-term sustainability. In particular, EFH refers to the waters and … Read more
EU fisheries ministers continue to disregard science and to overfish stocks on the basis of short-sighted socio-economic arguments. It is undeniable that the Union’s Member States must act immediately to stop overfishing and to recover all stock above healthy levels by 2020, at the latest. To achieve this objective, an effective protection of Essential Fish … Read more
Overfishing in the Mediterranean Sea is most commonly believed to have begun around the ‘70s (Quetglas et al., 2013; Tsikliras et al., 2013), when fishing efforts increased considerably due to technological developments that allowed fleets to displace themselves at a greater distance from the coast, fish at greater depths, explore new fishing grounds and thus … Read more
Oceana, political parties and NGOs have repeatedly called on the Danish government to halt sand dredging in the Sound. Sand dredging in the Sound causes serious damage to the ocean floor and marine life, in areas that are key for commercial species such as cod and plaice. These are among the main findings of reports … Read more
Oceana applauds the closure to bottom fish trawling of three nursery areas for hake and deep-sea rose shrimp in the Strait of Sicily and a temporal closure in the Gulf of Gabes. This decision, following a proposal tabled by Oceana, was sealed today in St. Julian (Malta) during the 40th meeting of the General Fisheries … Read more
Oceana calls to preserve these essential habitats for hake and deep-water rose shrimp during this week’s GFCM meeting Today Oceana unveiled never-before-seen images from the Strait of Sicily, showing damage caused by bottom trawling in areas that are essential for the reproduction of hake and deep-water rose shrimp. On the occasion of the 40th Session … Read more
The 40th meeting of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean and Black Sea (GFCM) represents an opportunity for its Contracting Parties to consolidate the role of this Regional Fisheries Management Organisation, by translating the recently reformed Agreement into effective fisheries management. In recent years, GFCM has made progress in its approach to fisheries management, … 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.
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