Using “big data” to evaluate MPA effectiveness – the case of reefs in EU

The study looked into the fishing activity across marine Nature 2000 sites having a focus on variety of protected features protected by the Habitats Directive. Significant incompatible fishing activity was observed inside Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) across all of the European Union (EU), particularly within reef and sandbank habitats types (codes 1170 and 1110).This poster summarizes … Read more

Mediterranean countries advance on fighting illegal fishing in the world’s most overfished sea

Oceana praises the progress made by Mediterranean countries during a fisheries compliance meeting of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM), held last week in Tirana, Albania. At the conclusion of the regional gathering between 24 contracting parties, delegates agreed to adopt a stricter sanctioning process for non-compliant Mediterranean countries, and to mprove transparency … Read more

Mediterranean countries advance on fighting illegal fishing in the world’s most overfished sea

Oceana praises the progress made by Mediterranean countries during a fisheries compliance meeting of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM), held last week in Tirana, Albania. At the conclusion of the regional gathering between 24 contracting parties, delegates agreed to adopt a stricter sanctioning process for non-compliant Mediterranean countries, and to mprove transparency … Read more

FAO awards insurance initiative to curb pirate fishing

Oceana and the UN PSI received an award yesterday from the FAO’s General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean for their work on fighting illegal fishing. The recognition, given for best practices to curb illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing in the Mediterranean region, was presented on Tuesday evening at the high-level MedFish4Ever conference in Marrakesh. … Read more

Achieving Transparency and Combating IUU fishing in RFMOs

Reinforcing the EU’s multilateral actions to promote best practices   The environmental and economic viability of global fisheries remains in crisis, with many fish populations managed within Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs) Convention areas overfished and at times at risk of collapsing. Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing significantly contributes to this problem. Strengthening fisheries … Read more

Oceana uncovers dozens of cases of illegal fishing in protected areas in the Mediterranean

Version française | Versione italiana Oceana launched today a report uncovering 41 potential cases of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing in the Mediterranean Sea using data from Global Fishing Watch. The findings were submitted and discussed at two governmental meetings of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM)1, during which countries failed to provide clarification … 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

The Mediterranean: Illegal fishing in our backyard?

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

Global insurers unite to cut financial lifeline to pirate fishing

St. Julian’s, Malta—Leading insurers from around the world have committed to take action on pirate fishing, an unlawful practice that costs the global economy tens of billions of dollars in losses every year and contributes to overfishing and the destruction of vital marine habitats and ecosystems. Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty, AXA, Generali, Hanseatic Underwriters … Read more

Fishing the Boundaries of Law

The sustainability of fisheries is crucial for the livelihoods, food security and nutrition of billions of people. Fish is one of the most traded commodities globally, however, many of the world’s fisheries are in trouble. A large number of fish populations are fully fished or overfished and the global seafood supply is severely threatened, however, … Read more