The State Land Conservation and Development Commission will meet next Thursday January 24 in Salem to make its final decision on a new Marine Spatial Plan designed to identify and designate areas suitable for marine renewable energy development. The plan identifies four areas totaling 22.3 square miles, or roughly 2% of Oregon’s Territorial Sea, as … Read more
SAN FRANCISCO— Conservation groups filed a lawsuit today against the National Marine Fisheries Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for the agencies’ failure to protect critical habitat areas for threatened and endangered loggerhead sea turtles on their nesting beaches and in Atlantic and Pacific waters, where they face threats from fisheries, climate change and … Read more
Yesterday afternoon the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council adopted a resolution recognizing the important role of forage species in the Sanctuary and supporting state and federal fishery managers for their recent commitments to afford additional protections for the ocean’s small, but critically important marine life. Oceana commends the diverse, 20-member Sanctuary Advisory Council … Read more
Today, 22 organizations – from fishermen to ocean advocates and marine scientists, including Clean Ocean Action, Oceana, and Surfrider Foundation, sent a letter to Secretary Salazar at the Department of the Interior (DOI) requesting that proposed seismic airgun testing in the Atlantic Ocean be cancelled in wake of the recent SuperStorm Sandy. On March 30, … Read more
Today the California Fish and Game Commission adopted a new state policy to manage California’s forage fisheries which officially recognizes the inordinately important role forage fish play in supporting healthy oceans. Oceana commends the precautionary precedent set today by the Commission, which establishes a new direction for fisheries on forage fish by considering how much … Read more
The Pacific Fishery Management Council voted Sunday to set the 2013 catch level for the U.S. West Coast Pacific sardine fishery at 66,495 metric tons. They took this action after reviewing a new scientific assessment showing this sardine population dropped 33% from the previous year and has been in continuous decline over the past six … Read more
WASHINGTON – Oceana, the largest advocacy group working solely to protect the world’s oceans, was joined today by more than 500 chefs, restaurant owners and culinary leaders in a letter calling on the United States government to require that “seafood is traceable in order to prevent seafood fraud and keep illegal fish out of the … Read more
SAN FRANCISCO— Conservation groups launched a lawsuit today against the National Marine Fisheries Service and Fish and Wildlife Service by filing a formal notice of intent to sue the agencies to protect critical habitat areas for endangered loggerhead sea turtles on Florida’s nesting beaches, as well as in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Florida … Read more
The National Marine Fisheries Service approved a plan today to allow the Hawaii-based shallow-set longline fishery to capture and kill more endangered sea turtles when targeting swordfish on the high seas of the North Pacific Ocean. Current regulations allow the fishery to take, each year, 16 endangered leatherback sea turtles and 17 endangered loggerhead sea … Read more
In a strong affirmation of the Golden State’s commitment to the environment, Governor Brown today designated the endangered Pacific leatherback sea turtle as California’s official state marine reptile by signing into law Assembly Bill (AB) 1776 by Assemblymember Fong (D- Cupertino). As sponsors and supporters of the bill, SeaTurtles.org and Oceana applaud Governor Brown and … 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.