Cabliers Bank – a deep-sea jewel one step closer to protection

Until recently, the Cabliers Bank was a hidden jewel in the Mediterranean Sea. This underwater biodiversity treasure has survived throughout centuries, in the Alboran Sea, the westernmost part of the Mediterranean. Here, Mediterranean and Atlantic waters interact, and are very rich in nutrients. This part of the Mediterranean Sea is also one of the busiest … Read more

EU nature law could be gamechanger for marine biodiversity, but will be meaningless if fisheries not properly addressed – NGO reaction

Today, the European Commission presented its legislative proposal on nature restoration, a new law with binding targets to restore degraded land and marine ecosystems across the EU. This is a major milestone to tackle the current biodiversity and climate crises and restore a healthy relationship between people and nature. We welcome the long-awaited publication of … Read more

Oceana expedition to Alboran Sea uncovers underwater oasis and ‘wasteland’

Gathered data will also support advocacy efforts to ban bottom trawling in European Marine Protected Areas Single-use plastics, abandoned fishing gear, and untreated waste most common pollutants found in seven-day expedition Madrid – Oceana concluded its expedition to the Alboran Sea (South of Spain), where the organisation gathered first-hand evidence of plastic pollution and bottom … Read more

European environmental organisations call for a ban on destructive fishing practices in Marine Protected Areas

Just after the UK’s announcement to protect two areas of English waters by banning damaging fishing activities such as bottom trawling, it will be the European Parliament’s turn to show how ambitious it truly is in protecting EU waters. During the first week of May in Strasbourg, members of the European Parliament (MEPs) will have … Read more

Paper Parks in Spain – Bottom trawling inside marine protected areas

Summary Spain has an extensive network of marine protected areas covering more than 13% of its marine surface area. These areas have been designated to protect very rich and varied biodiversity, but their management is inadequate. In most of these areas, which form part of the Natura 2000 network, the status of the habitats and … Read more

Protecting Cabliers: Exceptional Mediterranean coral reefs

The Cabliers Coral Mound Province is located in the Southern Alboran Sea (GSA 3 and 4 – see Figure 1). It comprises several elongated ridge-like mounds mainly composed of cold-water corals (CWC). The seamount here, a volcanic outcrop that extends for 25 km with depths ranging from 250-710 m, currently hosts one of the densest … Read more

Oceana proposes fisheries management revamp for Cabrera post-expansion

To mark the 30th anniversary in April of the designation of Cabrera national park in the Balearic islands, Oceana is presenting a proposal for better fisheries management of the enlarged area of the park to be considered in the new management plan which will be developed by the park authorities. Our proposal, which includes fisheries … Read more

Protecting the unknown

If space is the ‘final frontier’, the ocean depths are no doubt the ultimate frontier. To this day it is hard to imagine, despite all our advanced technology, that we know more about the surface of the moon — hundreds of thousands of kilometers away — than of the complex ecosystems that inhabit the ocean’s deep … Read more