As I had already told Keith, on July 30, the Marviva Med was arriving in the port of Athens and the little changes in the Oceana’s crew that were planned for that port were made. In Athens, we said goodbye to Alberto Iglesias, one of the safety divers, as well as Keith Ellenbogen, the onboard … Read more
Riding along the waves of the Marviva Med research boat at 10 nautical miles per hour, looking seaward towards Athens, Greece — time momentarily paused as the air grew still and the sea turned clear as glass. Within the stillness arrived a pod of dolphins that surfed the waves along the boat. Looking down from … Read more
“There are no passengers on Spaceship Earth. We are all crew.” ~ Marshall McLuhan, writer, philosopher and communicator As I reflect over the past sixty days at sea, on a campaign to protect the Atlantic Bluefin Tuna — our expedition has taken us to new frontiers and depths that have not often been seen. Under … Read more
Off the coast of Sicily are fleets of traditional “Harpoon Fishing Boats” with cables connected to ladders connected to lookout stations — 100ft/33m above sea level — that tower over the city and mountain peeks. Defying gravity 3ft/1m above sea level with a feeling of ‘walking on water’ is a horizontal ladder extending 150ft/50m from … Read more
“Many go fishing all their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after.”— Henry David Thoreau The swordfish,the only member of the family Xiphiidae, are one of the most beautiful marine animals living in our oceans — with big blue eyes, a long bill and brilliant sail — its spectacular. It’s a … Read more
With mooring lines securely fastened to the bollard, the Oceana Marviva Med was docked in the Sicilian Harbor of Porto Di Messina, Banchina G. Marconi. From the ‘porto’ our expedition team of Maria Jose Cornax, Gorka Leclercq, and Keith Ellenbogen departed in a rental car, driving north, along the coast of Sicily to photograph fishing … Read more
With the Oceana Marviva Med stationed off the coast of Sicily we launched the Grey Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB) to photograph tuna farms along the Bay of Milazzo. On this expedition, Xavier Pastor, Expedition Leader and Carlos Perez, Operations / Logistics Manager informed the underwater photography/videograhy team that if the opportunity presents itself we will … Read more
Submerged beneath the Tyrrhenian Sea is a seamount Seca Del Capo — that is 25ft/5m short of clearing the surface and becoming an island. The seamount descends to a maximum depth at the seafloor of 330ft/100m. This seamount is well known as a fishing ground and the Oceana team of underwater explorers set out this … Read more
At 4 am with only the stars and the moon illuminating the darkness of the sea — our expedition team Carlos Perez, Cesar Fuertes, Maria Jose Cornax,Gorka Leclercq, and Keith Ellenbogen rapidly descended down a vertical ladder from the Oceana Marviva Med into the Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB) underway at 8 nautical miles per hour. … Read more
Anchored 15 minutes outside the Harbor of Lipari Island, this morning with a crew of five team members we launched the grey Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB) from the Oceana Marviva Med to discreetly document fishing boats and the equipment within the harbor. On assignment, we noted at least 10-15 fishing boats potentially masked as longliners … 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.
