Gloucester, MA– Today, Oceana submitted a proposal to help end the wasted catch of fish and marine wildlife in New England and Mid-Atlantic gillnet fisheries, which throw away 16 percent of their total catch every year, according to the most recent government data. Current regulations allow some gillnet fishermen to use more than eight miles … Read more
Off the coast of California, deadly drift gillnets threaten some of our most iconic and amazing marine species, like the endangered sperm whale. These nets can entangle and drown open-ocean animals that swim into them. Last year, Oceana successfully pressured the government to put in place emergency rules to protect sperm whales from these deadly … Read more
The Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC), the federal advisory body that oversees fisheries policy for the U.S. West Coast, took preliminary action Saturday to prohibit development of new commercial fisheries for forage species in federal ocean waters offshore Washington, Oregon, and California. Forage species, the small critters at the base of the food web, are … Read more
The National Marine Fisheries Service has released new data showing that the California-based drift gillnet fishery targeting swordfish killed an estimated 53 marine mammals from May 2013 through January 2014. Fishery observers monitored 34 percent of the drift gillnet sets made last year; they documented that the fishery killed an estimated three California gray … Read more
Maya Gabeira is a professional big wave surfer from Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. Maya has won numerous awards including an ESPY for Best Female Action Sport Athlete and holds the record for largest wave ever surfed by a female for conquering a 46 ft wave in Portugal. Maya’s support for Oceana includes filming the “Catch … Read more
Austin Nichols is an American actor best known for his role as Julian Baker on One Tree Hill and for supporting roles in the films The Day After Tomorrow and Glory Road. More recently, Austin enjoys a recurring role on Showtime’s critically acclaimed series Ray Donovan. Growing up as a competitive water skier, Austin maintains … Read more
WASHINGTON – Today, a United States federal judge ruled that BP’s reckless and negligent behavior is at fault for the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which killed 11 people and caused 200 million gallons of oil to flood into the Gulf of Mexico. Today’s ruling opens up BP to billions of dollars in possible civil … Read more
Earlier this year, Oceana released a new report, “Wasted Catch,” that looked at the dirtiest fisheries in the United States for bycatch, and found that some U.S. fisheries discard more than half of everything they catch. This feature takes a close look at these fisheries and other issues surrounding bycatch. It was originally published in … Read more
Late last night the California Senate passed seafood labeling legislation (SB 1138) in a vote of 25-10, directly following passage off the Assembly floor in a vote of 57-15. SB 1138, authored by Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima), will begin to tackle the complex problem of seafood fraud in the Golden State by requiring that all fish … Read more
Earlier this month, several conservation groups, including Oceana, announced plans to file a lawsuit against the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to protect sperm whales from deadly, mile-long drift gillnets used in the California drift gillnet fishery. NMFS allowed temporary regulations for sperm whales to expire on August 6, without instating permanent conservation measures for … 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.