Last Thursday, at seven in the evening, the Oceana Ranger research catamaran, property of the international marine conservation organisation Oceana, detected a Moroccan fishing vessel nine miles east of Alboran Island, setting an illegal driftnet measuring over five meters in length in Spanish waters and within the Alboran fishing reserve. The Ranger was in the … Read more
The project carried out by Oceana in collaboration with the Fundación Biodiversidad contributes new data to marine research. A small yet interesting carnivorous sponge has been discovered by Oceana on a seamount located 10 miles from the coast of Almeria (Spain), known as “Seco de los Olivos”. It is the first time this species, scientifically … Read more
The discovery was made during the project Oceana is undertaking in collaboration with the Fundación Biodiversidad to detect vulnerable habitats in the Spanish Mediterranean. Oceana obtained the images from the undersea robot onboard the Ranger research catamaran. These images prove the immense ecological value of this area that was, up to now, unknown. Pelagic species … Read more
Oceana divers, working in the Cabrera Marine Park to document and record the state of the ecological communities and in surrounding areas, came across large concentrations of jellyfish in the northeastern-facing coves of the archipelago. Thousands of jellyfish of the Pelagia noctiluca species were filmed and photographed by Oceana as they moved within park waters … Read more
Based on the preliminary results, Oceana is asking for the repeal of the Italian decree authorising the use of the driftnets known as ferrettara. Driftnets, banned by the European Union since 2002, continue to pose a threat to the conservation of marine mammals and fish stocks in the waters of the Tyrrhenian Sea. The international … Read more
We begin the last day with calm seas and practically no wind. We are east of Columbretes at seven in the morning, profiling the canyon that is located there with the sonar. The surface is at approximately 120 meters depth, falling to 600-700 meters from there, and the walls are almost vertical in some parts. … Read more
After almost three days of storms, including almost 20 hours of jumps and jolts during the first day and at dock the other two days, we can set sail at last. The weather is not as good as the report said it would be, but it will get better as the day passes. Today we … Read more
After a few days in Formentera to prepare to ROV for filming the seamounts of the channel of Mallorca, we start work once again. Yesterday, we took advantage and the divers were able to get some images of groupers (Epinephelus marginatus), striped groupers (Epinephelus costae), mottled groupers (Mycteroperca rubra), barracudas (Sphyrna viridensis) and other medium … Read more
Last night, we set sail from Palma and headed towards the seamounts of the channel of Mallorca. We had to make some adjustments because we wanted to reach 300 meters depth, and we had to wait until the weather improved. As soon as we were ready, we headed towards the first and deepest seamount, Les … Read more
We reach Cabrera on the 15th in the afternoon in order to continue sampling the eastern part of the National Park. Ten minutes after the robot was in the water, we saw some fog beginning to form on the camera lens, which is bad news; water was somehow getting inside. We decide to suspend the … 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.
