2021 - Oceana USA

FAR-REACHING FISHING: The Global Footprint of China’s Distant-Water Fishing Fleet

As the world’s largest and most subsidized fishing fleet, China has a significant effect on ocean ecosystems around the globe. Oceana analyzed China’s fishing* activity worldwide between 2019 and 2021 using data from Global Fishing Watch** (GFW) — an independent nonprofit founded by Oceana in partnership with Google and SkyTruth. The analysis, outlined in a new fact sheet here, sheds light on China’s global fishing footprint, which includes over 51,000 China-flagged fishing vessels. However even this is only a partial view … Read more

Abandoned oil pipelines pollute our ocean

Far too often and for far too long, oil and gas companies have left their trash in the water. This year the U.S. Government Accountability Office reported that the federal government has allowed a massive number of pipelines to be abandoned instead of removed. Generally, companies must remove defunct pipelines from the seafloor, but the … Read more

International Victory for Endangered Shortfin Mako Sharks

The iconic shortfin mako shark, which has been classified as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species since 2019, received some much-needed good news this holiday season. On Nov. 23, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), an intergovernmental organization of many of the world’s … Read more

Scientists Call For an End to New Offshore Drilling

Today, over 70 scientists sent a letter to President Biden and Congress, urging our leaders in Washington, D.C. to prevent new offshore drilling.  Last month, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Build Back Better Act, which, if enacted, would establish the most significant protections ever for offshore drilling in the United States. The bill would permanently protect the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, as well as the Eastern Gulf … Read more

Automatic Identification Systems Essential to Maintaining Safe and Sustainable Fisheries

The U.S. is home to vibrant and diverse fisheries that provide a living for more than 1.7 million people and result in nearly $200 billion in revenue annually. From gumbo festivals to backyard clambakes, seafood is an integral part of American culture. However, these traditions and livelihoods are under threat from illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. … Read more

Tackling Illegal Fishing and Forced Labor in the Seafood Sector: A Roundtable Discussion on IUU Fishing

Earlier this month, Oceana and WWF convened a virtual roundtable of experts to discuss one of the greatest threats facing our oceans: illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. The expert panel included: Dr. Daniel Pauly, Oceana board member, and founder and director of the Sea Around Us initiative at the University of British Columbia’s Institute for Oceans and Fisheries; Ray Mabus, former Secretary of the Navy; Ame Sagiv, director of forced labor and human trafficking for Humanity United; and Nathan Rickard, trade counsel for … Read more

Oil disasters jeopardize our health and happiness

A recent scientific paper on the human health impacts since the BP Deepwater Horizon oil disaster shows us the many ways oil pollution threatens our families and our communities. On April 20, 2010, the BP Deepwater Horizon explosion killed 11 people. For months, oil spread across the Gulf of Mexico and washed up on 1,300 miles of shoreline from Texas to Florida. Tens … Read more

The National Business Roundtable: Protecting our coast and creating a thriving clean coastal economy

On Tuesday, June 1, business leaders, ocean advocates, and federal and local elected officials came together for a roundtable discussion on the importance of permanently protecting our coasts from dirty and dangerous offshore oil drilling.     Nancy Downes, Oceana Field Representative, Massachusetts introduces Rep. Mike Levin (D- CA-49) to kick off the event. The National Business Roundtable was an opportunity for business … Read more

Action: Urge the FDA to Require Traceability for All Seafood

Your seafood dinner likely passed through many hands before it made its way to your plate. Fish can be caught in one ocean by a vessel flagged to a distant country, transferred at sea to a vessel flagged to another country, then offloaded for processing. The processed fish is then transported to another country (potentially … Read more