In the Western Mediterranean, the highest concentration of seamounts occurs in the Alboran Sea and adjoining areas, as is the case of Seco de los Olivos seamount off Almeria or the seamounts and volcanic cones off Alboran. The LIFE+INDEMARES project focuses on these mounts and from 2009 to 2013 the project will study 10 Spanish … Read more
Today, delegates from over 190 nations are converging at the UN Convention on Biological Diversity meeting in Nagoya, Japan. For 2 weeks, they will be discussing ways to curb the erosion of biodiversity on the planet. Ryo Matsumoto, Japan’s Environment Minister said “we are now close to a ‘tipping point’ – that is, we are … Read more
Well we can’t say we are too surprised, but it’s still incredibly frustrating that OSPAR member states choose to continue endangering the health and future of an ecosystem on which millions of Europeans depend. Good news first – European countries agreed to create six new marine protected areas. This is an historic decision because they … Read more
Seagrasses are plants with roots, stems and leaves adapted to living in the marine environment and capable of producing flowers, fruits and seeds. These plants are more evolved and complex than seaweed, which have a more simple structure, although the two species are often confused. Seagrass beds occur extensively in shallow waters and can reach … Read more
For thousands of years, the Gulf of Cádiz has been known for its ecological importance, as seen in ancient clasical texts mentioning the abundance of its fisheries and the presence of numerous animal species. From the fantastic stories of Strabo, who defined tuna as the “pigs of the sea” because they would feed off the … Read more
Last week, our CEO tweeted an interesting article (Why wartime wrecks are slicking time bombs), highlighting the impact of World War II on the oceans. According to the study by Trevor Gilbert and Dagmar Etkin, between 2.5 million tons and 20 million tons of oil are contained in the thousands of ships on the continent … Read more
Oceana is proposing the creation of a new marine protected area in Andalusia that would extend the number of protected hectares off Doñana National Park and nearby waters from 4,000 to 80,000. The international marine conservation organization, now in its forth year in the area and in collaborating with Fundación Biodiversidad, has found endangered species … Read more
Kelp are large brown algae (1) that form a habitat very similar to a terrestrial forest. In Europe, their place is taken by other Laminaria forests that can be found in both the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. The most common species to be found in these ecosystems are Saccorhiza and Laminaria. Despite their great biological importance, kelp … Read more
Marine phanerogams, coralligenous communities and maërl beds have managed to achieve protection from destructive fishing practices. The biological importance and vulnerability of these ecosystems has been championed by Oceana from the outset. The characteristics of these ecosystems and their distribution in the Mediterranean are fundamental to understanding the importance of their protection and the giant … Read more
The EU Habitats Directive is the most important legislation on environmental matters in Europe. This Directive establishes, amongst others, a list of species for which each Member State must create Special Areas of Conservation with specific protection objectives and measures. These areas set up a global European network of protected areas, called the Natura 2000 … 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.
Oceana in Europe gratefully acknowledges EU funding support.
