Oceana: European Commission falls short with deep-sea fisheries proposal

Today, the European Commission published its biennial proposal on fishing opportunities for deep-sea species, for 2015 and 2016. While for most stocks the Commission has proposed total allowable catches (TACs) that follow scientific advice, it has failed to propose drastic reductions that were recommended by scientists for three key stocks, and has neglected to consider … Read more

Oceana and Panthalassa present “Sea Legend”

The international marine conservation organization Oceana and the film production company Panthalassa present “Sea Legend”, a film whose world premiere coincides with the International Film Festival in San Sebastian, Spain. Led by Andrea Roth, the film is set in a future where large fish have disappeared from the oceans, and is intended as a call … Read more

Tackling Illegal Fishing in Italy: The Making Of

Earlier this month, Oceana and Corriere della Sera embarked on a behind-the-scenes mission to uncover illegal fishing in the Port of Bagnara in southwest Italy. During an overnight mission, the team documented illegally caught swordfish from drift gillnets entering the Port. This isn’t the first undercover mission from Oceana—earlier this summer we uncovered drift gillnets … Read more

Oceana exposes illegal driftnet fisheries, while Italy denies it

Oceana observers, together with a cameraman from Reportime (Corriere della Sera), have gathered evidence of fishing boats using illegal driftnets in southern Italy’s port of Bagnara Calabra, as published today on Corriere della Sera by Report journalist Sabrina Giannini. This destructive fishing gear has been banned in the EU since 2002, due to high by-catch … Read more

Deep sea fisheries: the truth is revealed

France’s position on the reform of European deep-sea fishing regulations is even less justifiable in the light of this new information. On 2 July 2014, the French Institute for the Exploitation of the Sea (Ifremer) released data on the activities of French deep-sea bottom trawlers that non-government organizations (NGOs) have been demanding since national multi-stakeholder … Read more

Oceana reveals illegal driftnet fishing in Morocco

Morocco officially phased out driftnets in 2010 with funding from the EU and US  Oceana today revealed that the illegal use of driftnets to capture swordfish has returned to Tangiers, Morocco. Evidence gathered by the international marine conservation organization over the past three days, shows small-scale vessels acting in coordination with larger ones with absolute … Read more

Oceana welcomes continued EU commitment to fight IUU fishing worldwide

Today, the European Commission added the Philippines and Papua New Guinea to the list of countries failing to tackle Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing (IUU). Both countries must now demonstrate that they have taken adequate measures to address IUU fishing and if identified shortcomings are not addressed, they could face a ban of fish and … Read more

Scientists recommend largest cut in baltic cod fisheries in years

Today, the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES) delivered its advice for 2015 catches in the Baltic Sea, including the largest cuts in total allowable catches for cod in years. This move comes after ICES scientists  reported a particularly worrying development for eastern Baltic cod: While over the past few years, the … Read more

EU Parliament commits to sustainable fishing

Today, the European Parliament approved the final dossier of the comprehensive reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). The European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) is a € 6.5 billion fund that will implement the CFP for the period of 2014 – 2020. While the EMFF agreement must still be validated by the Council of … Read more