Legacy: Marine Protected Areas
Oceana launches expedition into unknown maltese depths
Oceana launches a two-month expedition to survey deep sea areas and underwater caves in Malta. The at-sea campaign, included within the LIFE Ba?AR for N2K project, will garner documentation on marine habitats and species so that new Sites of Community Importance can be protected under the Natura 2000 network. Many of these areas will be … Read more
Oceana: Dire state of ‘protected’ European marine environment underscores need for management
Today, the European Environment Agency (EEA) published its State of Nature report, a six-year assessment of the conservation status of threatened European habitats and species protected under the Natura 2000 network, the world’s largest network of nature conservation areas. Oceana warns that most EU marine species and habitats within the Natura 2000 network remain in … Read more
Oceana calls for urgent measures to halt marine biodiversity loss in protected areas
Oceana warns that even though fishing within Natura 2000 marine areas is a major threat to protected species and habitats, most of these sites lack measures to regulate it. Campaigners from the marine conservation organisation have called for the establishment of effective management measures during the first EU biogeographical seminar on marine Natura 2000 management, … Read more
New Marine Protected Areas in Kattegat Almost a Reality
The Danish Minister of Environment, Kirsten Brosbøl, and the Minister of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, Dan Jørgensen, have submitted a joint proposal to establish six new Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in the Kattegat in order to protect its soft-bottom habitats. Soft-bottom represents around one-quarter of the Danish part of the Kattegat but currently remain completely … Read more
Six percent in six years
Earlier this week, the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Affairs hosted an important screening: the wrap-up documentary of the LIFE+ INDEMARES project. LIFE+ INDEMARES is a turning point in marine conservation in Spain, since it has allowed the country to propose ten new Sites of Community Importance (SCI), increasing the marine protected surface … Read more
Management matters: Ridding the Baltic Sea of paper parks
Threats to the marine environment are multiple and growing and the Baltic Sea is no stranger to them. Numerous human activities have put its ecosystems under severe pressure and it has become one of the most polluted seas in the world. In order to safeguard species and habitats, and to recover the healthy status of the sea, one of the most widely recognized and effective … Read more
Big Waves, Big Plans
On Sunday morning, we left Sandhamn and sailed northwest to the Gulf of Bothnia where we will carry out more research on marine litter in the Baltic Sea. On board, we are divided into watch teams. This way, everyone takes their turn to work and carry out daily tasks, despite being as inexperienced in sailing … Read more
Oceana congratulates the Spanish Ministry for the protection of the first 4 INDEMARES areas
The ministerial order should make reference to the Mediterranean Regulation, which defines fundamental fisheries regulations affecting two of the areas protected today. Oceana congratulates the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment (MAGRAMA) for the publication of the order, which approves the proposal to include four areas of the LIFE+ INDEMARES project in the list of … Read more
OSPAR Commission Protects 16 new vulnerable species and habitats in the North-East Atlantic
A few days ago, in the coastal town of Cascais, Portugal, the OSPAR Commission marked their 2014 meeting with a decision to protect 11 vulnerable marine species and five habitats in the North-East Atlantic. European eels, cod, spotted rays and seamounts are among those that will receive protection. The OSPAR Commission, which was set up … Read more
