Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing Archives

ClientEarth and Oceana sue the Spanish authorities for inaction on serious illegal fishing threat in West Africa

Environmental NGOs ClientEarth and Oceana are taking legal action against the Spanish government for failing to investigate and – where appropriate – sanction Spanish vessels for switching off their Automatic Identification System (AIS) for significant periods of time and for not effectively monitoring Spanish companies’ fishing operations in West Africa. With local fish stocks dwindling, … Read more

Geographical Mislabelling of cod: A Threat to Transparency

New research has uncovered a significant issue in the seafood industry: geographical mislabelling in cod. The study, led by Marine Cusa, former research assistant at Liverpool John Moores University, and currently Marine Policy Advisor at Oceana in Europe and researcher at The Technical University of Denmark, analysed over 108 Atlantic cod products and found that … Read more

Overfishing in West Africa: How EU companies are contributing to depleting vital fish stocks

Overfishing small pelagic fish, like sardinella in West Africa , has devastating consequences for the region’s coastal communities. These fish are often destined for fishmeal and fish oil production, which is heavily driven by European demand for farmed salmon, worth 8.4 billion euros in 2022. Investigations, such as those led by Danwatch, reveal that companies like … Read more

Why transparency matters: Exposing EU ownership of high-risk fishing vessels in Guinea-Bissau

Fishing is a EUR 144 billion global industry, accounting for 15% of the world’s protein intake. Currently, reported fish catches are approximately 90 million tons annually, and the most recent estimates indicate that the annual volume of fish caught illegally could reach up to 26 million tons. Illegal fishing is particularly prevalent in regions with … Read more

The Follow the Fish movement demands consumer information for all seafood

Currently, consumers lack basic information on processed seafood like canned tuna and fish fingers – such as species name, origin, which country caught the fish and the catching or production method The movement urges the European Commission to enhance transparency and require consumer information for all seafood by revising the relevant EU law Brussels – … Read more

Med Sea Alliance Calls for Urgent Action by GFCM to Strengthen Fisheries Management

As the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) convenes in Rome, the Med Sea Alliance, alongside its members Oceana and the Environmental Justice Foundation, is urging member countries to take immediate action to safeguard Mediterranean fisheries. With illegal fishing and depleted fish stocks posing critical threats, the Alliance is calling for decisive measures on … Read more

Call for the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean to increase transparency and effectively tackle non-compliance cases and IUU fishing

Ahead of the 47th session of the annual meeting of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean and the Black Sea (GFCM) in Rome, Italy, Akdeniz Koruma Derneği, Archipelagos Institute of Marine Conservation, AZIR, ClientEarth, Environmental Justice Foundation, Oceana, The Pew Charitable Trusts, The Nature Conservancy and WWF, who work together to protect the Mediterranean … Read more

EU citizens strongly support expanded consumer information for seafood products

New poll conducted by Oceana shows that citizens in Belgium, France, Spain, and Cyprus want to know more about the fish they eat EU Commissioner-designate for Fisheries and Oceans, Costas Kadis, should ensure that consumers have basic information on processed seafood A new Oceana poll reveals that 84% of citizens from Belgium, France, Spain and … Read more

140 organisations call on new EU leadership to prioritise ocean health with new fund and ban on destructive activities

With Ocean Week taking the stage this week in Brussels (30 September- 4 October), 138 organisations call on the newly elected EU institutions to take a series of bold measures to stop the EU’s ocean and coastlines being pushed to the brink, including launching a Ocean Fund and proposing new legislation to ban destructive activities … Read more

Blue Manifesto: The roadmap to a healthy ocean in 2030

Imagine a world where the ocean teems with life, marine ecosystems flourish, and where coastal communities thrive in harmony with nature. This vision is not just a dream; it’s an achievable reality, and the Blue Manifesto is our urgent call to action to make it happen. Civil society organisations across Europe have united to provide … Read more