The Oceana Ranger research vessel sets sail today from the port of Sagunto (Valencia) to study the seabeds of the Canary Islands and gather information to propose designation of new marine protected areas. The objective of the expedition is to contribute information to help Spain protect 10% of its marine environment by 2012, as required … Read more
Oceana has found around a dozen species in the Canary Islands whose existence in the archipelago was unknown until now. Glass and rock sponges, ball, white and black coral, and armored searobin are some of the species that have been found. A wide variety of rare species, or species for which hardly any biological information … Read more
Baiona, Spain –.The environmental organizations, Ecologistas en Acción, Greenpeace, Oceana, Seas At Risk and WWF present in Baiona (Spain) at the Ministerial gathering of 47 countries from the five continents[i] emphasize the ministers’ recognition that “a new scenario for the seas and the oceans” is urgently needed and that the chronic overcapacity of fishing fleets … Read more
Oceana estimates that Spain loses seagrass prairies worth 60 million Euros every year due to trawling, the construction of ports and marinas, and dumping. The conservation organisation and the Banco Santander Foundation made this information public during a press conference to present the results of a joint project to restore seagrass prairies developed in the … Read more
This week, the European Union is closing their public consultation for a reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) from 2012. Oceana is asking the European Commission to focus the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy on improving the balance and the health of the oceans. Healthy oceans are not only a prerequisite for fisheries … Read more
Oceana urges the European Commission (EC) and Member States to prioritize creating a broad strategy to address both the exponential loss of marine species and habitats as well as mitigate the effects of climate change such as acidification. The international marine conservation organisation is urging these measures on the occasion of the renewed EU Biodiversity … Read more
Capping a five-year effort, Oceana helped persuade the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council to protect 59,000km2 of valuable deep-sea corals stretching from North Carolina to Florida by banning all bottom trawl activity in the area. Known as America’s largest continuous deep sea coral ecosystem, the area includes hundreds of pinnacles up to 500 feet tall … Read more
Beginning November 2009, bottom trawls and dredges will be prohibited in four deepwater canyons along the US Atlantic coast – a move that will protect the Atlantic tilefish fishery but that will also preserve a rich ecosystem that supports lobster, deep sea corals and sponges living in the canyons. Oceana pushed the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management … Read more
In honor of World Environment Day on June 5th and to implement the European Union’s commitment with the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Spanish government announced the creation of ten new Marine Protected Areas in Spain’s Exclusive Economic Zone. Oceana has played a key role in identifying and proposing protections for marine areas of interest … Read more
Sign up today to get weekly updates and action alerts from Oceana.
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.
