The European Parliament has today voted to water down its commitments made in 2013 to reform fisheries in the European Union (EU) and to manage all the bloc’s fisheries sustainably. MEPs, in a plenary session, favoured fishing at levels that still make overfishing possible, a move criticised by Oceana. Lasse Gustavsson, executive director for Oceana … Read more
EU’s Agriculture and Fisheries Council (AGRIFISH) today reached an agreement on fishing limits for Baltic stocks for the next year. Regrettably, the Council decided to set catch limits for the Eastern Baltic cod and the Western herring stocks which not only do not follow scientific advice, but also challenge the goal of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) that ensures … Read more
On October 15th, the EU’s Agriculture and Fisheries Council (AGRIFISH) is due to meet in Luxembourg where ministers will decide on fishing limits for the Baltic Sea in 2019. Oceana encourages the Total Allowable Catches (TACs) to be in line with scientific advice, which could help rebuild stocks and eventually increase catches by 25%. In … Read more
There are only 18 months left to achieve the 2020 deadline to stop overfishing. However, despite the progress made in reducing fishing pressure in the Atlantic waters and adjacent seas during the recent decade, the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries has confirmed repeatedly that the improvements achieved so far are insufficient to meet the … Read more
The Mediterranean Sea is one of the world’s most important seas. However, it is currently the world’s most overfished sea, with more than 90% of stocks fished above what is considered sustainable (i.e. above Maximum Sustainable Yield, or MSY). In the Western Mediterranean alone, overfishing affects 80% of demersal fish stocks, which live and feed … Read more
London becomes ocean organisation’s latest expansion TV host Patrick Aryee and ocean advocate Alexandra Cousteau attend UK opening Oceana – the largest international ocean advocacy organisation – held a welcome event last Friday at The Hospital Club to celebrate the opening of the organisation’s office in London and strengthen Oceana’s policy and research work to … Read more
A new interactive tool launched today by Oceana explores the potential socio-economic benefits of European Union (EU) countries moving away from current fishing practices. The launch comes ahead of a fisheries seminar organised by the European Commission on 14th September, which marks the start of discussions on fishing limits in 2019 for the Baltic, Deep-sea … Read more
Monitor, control and surveillance are crucial to ensure proper fisheries management and to rebuild stocks, in particular in the Mediterranean Sea, where 80% of the stocks are considered to be outside biologically safe limits. The General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) has taken significant steps in the last years towards reversing this situation, including … Read more
The Commission’s proposal is a first step in the right direction to tackle the long-lasting overfishing situation in the Mediterranean Sea and realise the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP)’s objectives of achieving Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) by 2020 and minimize fisheries impacts on the ecosystems. However, the WMedMAP is clearly insufficient as it stands to reverse … Read more
The European Commission today released its annual report on the state of fish stocks and the progress made so far in achieving sustainable fisheries – the main objective of the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). The data from the report show that overfishing levels still remain high in the North East Atlantic, including adjacent seas, … Read more
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