All bar two of Scotland’s 24 offshore benthic Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) were damaged by bottom-towed fishing gears in 2020, making their ‘protected’ status mere lines on a paper map. Oceana recorded over 44,000 fishing hours using bottom-towed gear in inshore and offshore MPAs in the Scottish Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in 2020. The analysis … Read more
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
The North Sea is one of the most heavily impacted water bodies in the world. Centuries of human activities have placed its marine ecosystems under heavy pressure, resulting in extensive and significant changes in ecosystem structure and function. Intensive fishing activity – particularly bottom-trawling – has driven the near disappearance of certain species and habitats, … Read more
A high resolution version of this report can be downloaded here.
Oceana calls on the UK to protect at least 10% of UK seas in Highly Protected Marine Areas. At present, about 30% of UK seas are designated as Marine Protected Areas, but most are “paper parks” – protected only in name. With the UK government soon to release a review into Highly Protected Marine Areas … Read more
A high resolution version of this report can be downloaded here.
A high resolution version of this report can be found here.
A high resolution version of this report can be found here.
A high resolution version of this report can be found here.
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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.
