(This piece was first published on Parliament Magazine’s website) Multiannual budgets, tobacco regulations and the financial crisis have been on the mind of many Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) lately; and rightly so, as decisions made on these issues have far-reaching effects on the daily life of Europeans. However, on 23 October, MEPs will … Read more
Discards constitute 8% of total weight of world captures or more than 7.3 million tonnes of fish thrown away at sea. More than 20% of fish is discarded in European waters. On the occasion of a seminar organised by the European Commission on 27 and 28 May, in which experts will discuss their work to … Read more
Huelva’s trawling closed season began on September 24. Oceana doubts this measure will be effective and requests effective control measures during this period. The Oceana Ranger research vessel, which belongs to the marine conservation organisation Oceana, carried out part of its 2007 expedition off the coasts of Huelva in order to document seabeds, mainly in … Read more
According to the international organisation for marine research and conservation, Oceana, once again a group of European countries, led by Spain, France, Portugal and Poland are attempting to destroy any initiative taken to stop the deterioration of fish species and marine ecosystems. These governments have continually ignored the warnings given by the scientific community regarding … Read more
Oceana has voiced its satisfaction at the exemplary decision taken by the European Commission to fine the French government 57 million euros for having allowed the capture and commercialisation of hake of a smaller size than legally permitted. In many European markets, the commercialisation of undersized hake has become standard practice, despite the fact that … Read more
In view of the alarming increase in detentions of Spanish fishing vessels by the coastguards of a variety of countries due to their illegal fishing activities – on this particular occasion the Galician trawler “Cantábrico III” in Irish waters – the marine protection organisation Oceana is calling upon the Spanish government to demonstrate “zero tolerance” … Read more
As the annual negotiations to set fishing quotas for next year approach, Oceana urges Ministers not to dodge the difficult decisions that need to be made in order to prevent the collapse of many stocks. In advance of the Fisheries Council meeting, the European Commission has tabled a timid set of proposals for 2006 quotas, … Read more
At the ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) held in Hong Kong between 13 and 18 December, Oceana called on representatives of the countries present and the Director General of the WTO, Pascal Lamy, to put a stop to fishing subsidies that encourage overfishing and other destructive fishing practices. “In this respect, the … Read more
A fleet of barely 20 fishing vessels manages to discard each year between 2,000 and 15,000 tonnes of anglerfish, generate more than 1,000 kilos of waste and “ghost nets” and overexploit stocks of anglerfish, deep-sea red crab and deep-sea sharks. Every day, more than 6,000 kilometres of fixed gillnets (known as rasco) are deployed in … Read more
The Galician businessman, Antonio Vidal, has been indicted by the US Administration for attempting to fraudulently enter into that country’s market some 25,000 kilos of fish protected by international conventions, in this case Patagonian toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides) and Antarctic toothfish (Dissostichus mawsoni). (http://www.oceana.org/fileadmin/oceana/uploads/europe/reports/cp_usdep_antonio_vidal.pdf) Both Antonio Vidal and one of his companies, Fadilur S.A., have been … 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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