Elasmobranches, the group of fishes that include sharks and batoids (rays and other flat sharks), are found in all European waters, from the cold and deep waters of Greenland to the warm subtropical waters of the Canary Islands. Elasmobranches are cartilaginous fishes, meaning they have skeletons made of cartilage instead of bone; they present a … Read more
Sharks represent one of nature’s most successful creations. They have roamed our oceans for over 400 million years and survived various extinction events to evolve into predators that are perfectly adapted to the marine environment. Early sharks looked very different from today’s modern sharks, but these animals have always had a strategic advantage over their … Read more
Sharks have been fished for hundreds of years, some records even date back to ancient Roman times. But it has only been in the last few decades when the volume of shark catches increased exponentially. Sharks are now targeted by both highly industrialised fishing fleets and artisanal fisheries. Sharks are mainly hunted for their fins … Read more
Oceana, the international marine conservation organization, is calling on the European Union to present effective proposals to regulate sharks that are caught in the Atlantic Ocean during the upcoming meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) in Recife, Brazil, 6-15 November. Regarding the innovative shark proposals the European Union presented … Read more
Oceana congratulates the Spanish Ministry of Environment and Rural and Marine Affairs today for publishing in the Official State Bulletin a total prohibition on the catch of hammerhead and thresher sharks[1]. With this highly awaited Ministerial Order, Spain has become a pioneering country within the European Unión by regulating its shark fisheries. It is the … Read more
The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) will meet in Recife, Brazil, next week to determine the future of commercially valuable bluefin tuna, whose populations have plummeted over recent decades. ICCAT is also expected to take up the issue of controlling shark catches and finning as agreed upon at the Second Joint … Read more
Sharks, rays and chimaeras make up the group of fish known as Chondrichthyans– these fish all have skeletons made of cartilage rather than bone. In general, Chondrichthyans grow slowly, mature late and produce few young over long lifetimes. Consequently, their populations grow at extremely low rates, leaving them exceptionally susceptible to fisheries overexploitation and slow … Read more
The EU Fisheries Council will meet 14-15 December to agree the 2010 TACs (Total Allowable Catches) for Community fleets. Oceana, the international marine conservation organization, is calling on Fisheries Ministers to end all fishing for porbeagle and spurdog sharks, both Critically Endangered[1] in European waters, as well as that for endangered skates and rays. Setting … Read more
Today it’s all about last-day expectations. All important discussions have been put off for today’s plenary. The reopening of the bluefin tuna, sharks and corals debates will depend upon the support of the parties. Today we may obtain more protection for more species… or be doomed to lose them. Finally CITES failed to ban the … Read more
Today all four shark proposals were debated. Unfortunately, only one was approved. The proposals to protect hammerhead sharks, oceanic whitetips and the spurdog were rejected. The good news is that the proposal to protect the porbeagle was agreed! This is a large, migratory and warm blooded shark. It´s meat is heavily consumed in Europe. The … 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.
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