Oceana is satisfied with the arrest of three captains and shipowners in the Italian port of Bagnara Calabra for their use of illegal driftnets. The accused are under house arrest thanks to the proceedings begun by the Prosecutor’s Office of Calabria as a result of a documentary aired by Italian TV channel RAI 3 on … Read more
With a letter today addressed to Commissioners Dimas and Borg, Oceana, the international marine conservation organization, has called for an end to the illegal use of an Italian driftnet called ferrettara. The letter, which follows a recent formal complaint submitted by Oceana to the European Commission, provides evidence of the illegal catch of vulnerable … 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
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
The Court also formally denied France’s request to consider future exemptions for its fleet from the EU driftnet ban. In Italy, the Calabrian prosecutor formally charged several driftnetters for illegal activities and has since kept them ashore under house arrest.
After Oceana showed that some fishing ships continued to use illegal fishing gear, the European Court of Justice rejected further requests by the French government for exemptions from the EU ban on driftnetting in the Mediterranean Sea. This ruling spares 25,000 juvenile bluefin tuna caught annually in the driftnets, along with thousands of other types … 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.
