Threatened Species Archives

Oceana calls on the EU to improve fisheries management for the most threatened species

Today the European Fisheries Council is discussing and agreeing measures for some of the most threatened stocks their fleets catch. The international marine conservation organisation Oceana makes an urgent call to the EU Fisheries Council to adopt effective management plans that will stop the decline of these species and ensure recovery of their populations. Among … Read more

Mediterranean sharks and rays, in danger of extinction

Oceana and Shark Alliance, a coalition of 42 conservation, scientific, diving and fishing organizations focused on improving European shark policies, are repeating its call for a strong Plan of Action to improve the status of European sharks and rays in response to the new IUCN findings that 42% of shark and ray populations in the … Read more

EU Bans All Shark Finning

As of 6 July, 2013, all sharks caught in European waters or by European vessels will have to be landed with their fins still naturally attached. Celebrating the arrival of the long-awaited, strict EU ban on shark finning, Oceana welcomes the new EU regulation’s entry into effect, on Saturday. It ends nearly a decade of … Read more

World Oceans Day: Conservation efforts largely ignore threatened and fragile deep sea

Today, on World Oceans Day, Oceana urges the prioritization of scientific research into overlooked and fragile deep sea areas. Despite a massive gap in knowledge of deep sea areas, destructive activities are authorized without any clear insight into their impact on local ecosystems. Slow-growing and vulnerable species and habitats are facing potentially irreversible damage. “Activities … Read more

E.U. goes “fins attached”

The European Parliament approved a strict ban on shark finning, closing a crucial loophole in EU law by requiring that all sharks caught in EU waters, and by EU vessels in international waters, be landed with their fins attached. This is a monumental achievement for sharks and one that Oceana campaigned for. The EU is … Read more

Sharks and Rays Gain Protections in the Med

The EU voted in favor of strictly protecting 10 threatened species of sharks and rays in the Mediterranean Sea, under the Barcelona Convention. These species, including hammerheads, tope, and shortfin mako, have declined dramatically in numbers – some by as much as 99% during the last century – while others have vanished from parts of … Read more

23 Nations Support Shark Conservation in the Mediterranean

For the first time in its 60-year history, the FAO’s General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean took action for shark protection. The Commission adopted measures for the management and conservation of sharks and rays in the Mediterranean, the region of highest risk in the world for these fishes. Twenty-three Mediterranean countries endorsed a proposal from … Read more

Protecting Sharks

Following Oceana advocacy, the EU and USA governments proposed 8 species of sharks to CITES Appendix II. In preparation for the CITES negotiations in March 2010, the United States submitted the oceanic whitetip, dusky, sandbar, and three species of hammerhead shark – great, scalloped and smooth – for increased protection under these international trade rules. … Read more

The European Commission released the Community Plan of Action for the Conservation and Management of Sharks

Many of Europe’s shark and related ray populations have been depleted in the past 30 years, primarily due to fisheries overexploitation by large European shark fishing fleets. The Plan of Action does include some positive aspects, including a shark discard ban and a requirement to land shark fins and bodies at the same time and … Read more

Protecting Sharks from Finning in the EU

Oceana and other members of the Shark Alliance scored a major victory for sharks in the European Parliament when the Parliament decided to reject a recommendation from its own Fisheries Committee to increase the allowable ratio of shark fins to bodies from 5 percent to 6.5 percent.