Today, the California Assembly Committee on Water, Parks, and Wildlife took the first step to prohibit the use of deadly drift gillnets in waters off California in order to protect some of the ocean’s most iconic wildlife. The 15-member Committee passed Assembly Bill 2019, legislation co-sponsored by Oceana and Turtle Island Restoration Network. The bill … Read more
WASHINGTON – Today, Oceana announced that 110 local elected officials and 155 conservation and animal welfare organizations have joined the mounting opposition against seismic airgun use along the East Coast. Six coastal towns have also passed local resolutions opposing or voicing concern with their use (Cocoa Beach, FL,Carolina Beach, NC, Caswell Beach, NC, Nags Head, NC, Bradley Beach, NJ and Red Bank, NJ.) Oceana expects more local … Read more
Earlier this month, I had the honor of recognizing former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg for his dedicated support of ocean conservation. Mr. Bloomberg was our special guest at Oceana’s annual New York City Gala, hosted by Ted Danson, Mary Steenburgen, and Susan and David Rockefeller. On stage, Mr. Bloomberg spoke about the significance … Read more
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) issued a final rule today that will maintain approximately 12,620 square miles of existing conservation area designed to protect overfished rockfish populations off the U.S. West Coast. The rule partially overrides a Pacific Fishery Management Council recommendation to re-open 520 square miles of the “Rockfish Conservation Area” (RCA) off … Read more
WASHINGTON- As the international sea turtle community gathers in New Orleans this week for the 34th Annual International Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation, Oceana sent a letter today to Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal urging him to reverse a state law that leaves thousands of sea turtles unnecessarily vulnerable to drowning in shrimp trawls every year off the … Read more
New York, NY: Oceana, the largest international organization dedicated solely to protecting the world’s oceans, honored Michael R. Bloomberg at its annual New York City Gala last night. Ted Danson, Mary Steenburgen, and Susan and David Rockefeller hosted the festivities. Longtime Oceana supporter Adrian Grenier was also in attendance. The evening celebrated Oceana’s victories for the oceans in the beautiful Pool … Read more
This afternoon the California Senate Health Committee passed Senate Bill 1138, authored by Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima), which will require that all fish and shellfish be accurately labeled by common name. Oceana appreciates the leadership of Senator Padilla and applauds the Senate Health Committee for confronting the appalling level of seafood fraud in California by passing … Read more
WASHINGTON- A groundbreaking new study to be published in Marine Policy estimates that between 20-32 percent of wild-caught seafood imported into the U.S. comes from illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) or “pirate” fishing. Valuing at $1-2 billion annually, this represents between 15-26 percent of the total value of wild-caught seafood imported into the U.S. Pirate fishers commonly ignore domestic and … Read more
Today, the U.S. Coast Guard released its “Report of Investigation into the Circumstances Surrounding the Multiple Related Marine Casualties and the Grounding of the MODU KULLUK On December 31, 2012.” The report details mismanagement and poor risk assessment on the part of Shell and its contractors. It also describes violations of the law and regulations and … Read more
WASHINGTON – Today, the United States House Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs held a hearing to discuss the Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing Enforcement Act of 2013 (H.R. 69) and the Pirate Fishing Elimination Act, which aim to keep pirate fishers out of our ports and increase efforts to curb illegal … Read more
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We have already protected over 4 million square miles of ocean and innumerable sea life - but there is still more to be done.