Legacy: Habitats Protection
Discovery of Sabellaria spinulosa reefs in an intensively fished area of the Dutch Continental Shelf, North Sea
Abstract The tube-building polychaete Sabellaria spinulosa (Ross worm) can form conspicuous biogenic reefs that stabilize the seabed and increase biodiversity by providing a habitat for a multitude of other species. These reefs, however, are assumed to be vulnerable to human-induced physical disturbances of the seabed. In the Greater North Sea, S. spinulosa reefs are recognized to be under threat … Read more
Building a GFCM framework to combat IUU fishing
Monitor, control and surveillance are crucial to ensure proper fisheries management and to rebuild stocks, in particular in the Mediterranean Sea, where 80% of the stocks are considered to be outside biologically safe limits. The General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) has taken significant steps in the last years towards reversing this situation, including … Read more
Malta Expands Habitat Protections in Mediterranean
The government of Malta has announced the designation or expansion of eight marine protected areas in the Mediterranean. This announcement is the result of Oceana efforts that began in 2013, and the protections are based on the findings of two Oceana expeditions (2015 and 2016 LIFE Ba?AR Expeditions). Oceana mapped out sandbanks, reefs and more than … Read more
Fisheries Restricted Areas
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
Defining Mediterranean VMEs. Draft list review & key concepts
According to FAO, a marine ecosystem should be classified as vulnerable based on the following characteristics: uniqueness or rarity, functional significance, fragility, life-history traits of species that make its recovery difficult and structural complexity. However, a VME is also described by its vulnerability, which is dependent upon the nature of the fishery and hence region … Read more
Marine Animal Forests
Book: Marine Animal Forests Oceana chapter: Sponge Grounds as Key Marine Habitats: A Synthetic Review of Types, Structure, Functional Roles, and Conservation Concerns This chapter reviews the major known monospecific and multispecific sponge aggregations in the world’s oceans. They are shown to occur from the intertidal to abyssal depths, in tropical, temperate, and high latitudes … Read more
21 countries and the EU protect endangered cold-water corals throughout the Mediterranean
As a result of Oceana’s advocacy, four deep-sea coral species will now be protected in the Mediterranean. The UN’s Barcelona Convention, a multi-country regional sea convention, voted in favor of adding four additional coral species – cockscomb cup coral, yellow-tree coral, yellow coral and bamboo coral – to the list of endangered or threatened species … Read more
Mediterranean countries to decide on the protection of corals threatened with extinction
As the Contracting Parties of the Barcelona Convention are due to meet in Tirana, Oceana calls on the Mediterranean countries to approve a proposal to protect four threatened deep-sea corals. Despite not being of any commercial interest, these corals are vulnerable to the impact of human activity, in particular destructive fishing practices. Particularly noteworthy among … Read more
Status, trends and drivers of kelp forests in Europe: an expert assessment
A comprehensive expert consultation was conducted in order to assess the status, trends and the most important drivers of change in the abundance and geographical distribution of kelp forests in European waters. This consultation included an on-line questionnaire, results from a workshop and data provided by a selected group of experts working on kelp forest … Read more
