The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has published the first comprehensive assessment of the state of health of fish in European Seas and concluded that two of the three deepwater fish species mainly targeted by French industrial bottom trawlers in UK waters, off Scotland, are threatened with extinction.
As the European Union Fisheries Council meets today in Luxembourg, the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition calls on Ministers to progress negotiations of a new regulation for the management of deep-sea fisheries so it may be concluded without further delay.
Continue reading DSCC calls for urgent action by EU Fisheries Ministers
Source: IUCN
A total of 7.5% of all European marine fish species are threatened with extinction in European waters, according to the European Red List of Threatened Species published today by IUCN and the European Commission. While some species are recovering, marine management has been less successful for many other commercial fishes: 40.4% of European sharks, rays and chimaeras face an elevated risk of extinction.
Source: iisd Reporting Services – Linkages
The seventh meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Informal Working Group to study issues relating to the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity beyond areas of national jurisdiction (BBNJ) convened from 1-4 April 2014 at UN Headquarters in New York.
Source: IPS
Author: Thalif Dean
– At a political level, when the United Nations speaks of a “high seas alliance”, it is probably a coalition of countries battling modern piracy in the Indian Ocean.
Continue reading U.N. Aims at Treaty to Protect Marine Biodiversity
Source: BBC News
Author: Roger Harrabin
The health of the world’s oceans is deteriorating even faster than had previously been thought, a report says. A review from the International Programme on the State of the Ocean (IPSO), warns that the oceans are facing multiple threats.
Source: New Zealand Herald
Author: Jamie Morton
The Government says it was “too late” to vote to protect deep ocean habitats from the threat of seabed mining at the world’s largest conservation congress because it had already issued prospecting and exploration permits.
Continue reading ‘Too late’ for Govt to vote on saving seabed
Source: Arab Today
Author: AFP
Non-governmental organizations on Sunday called on RIO+20 summit leaders to back a new treaty to protect the high seas.
Continue reading NGOs urge RIO+20 to back new treaty on oceans protection
From 1-3 December 2011, the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) and the IUCN Environmental Law Centre (ELC) jointly organized an international seminar on the “Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biodiversity beyond National Jurisdiction”.
Continue reading Summary Report on BfN-IUCN Seminar on Areas beyond National Jurisdiction
Hagfish, eel-like creatures known for secreting buckets of slime, are among the ocean’s most ancient species. They dwell on the ocean floor feeding on dead and dying sea life, filling an important ecological niche. Human activities, however, may be threatening their numbers and new research looks into the population decline of these shadowy creatures.
