🐋 16 years after Deepwater Horizon, the US administration paved the way to allow exploring and exploiting oil & gas in those same waters. Millions of animals died, and many populations and species still face consequences. Haven’t we learned anything?
🔗 Read more: www.oceancare.org/en/stories_a...
An important step for the protection of sperm whales in the Mediterranean. 🐋 The Green Fund has officially joined 'SAvE Whales' as a new partner. It also secures the public co-financing committed by Greece to move & progress towards the full implementation of the project.
@thegreentank.bsky.social
#BBNJPrepCom3 has concluded in NY. Progress was made, but gaps remain. All eyes now turn to COP1 in January, the moment commitment on paper must translate into real action for the high seas. 🌊
👉 youtube.com/shorts/BR3-u...
@highseasalliance.bsky.social @fabiennemcl.bsky.social
#HighSeasTreaty
A start-up is pushing for regulation changes to allow controversial marine carbon storage in NZ waters. OceanCare's Dr James Kerry spoke to #RNZ – science must come first. 🌊
👉Read more:
www.rnz.co.nz/news/environ...
At #CMSCOP15, one major threat to migratory marine species moved onto the agenda: the exploitation of vulnerable species through direct takes as a food source. Parties agreed on the terms of reference for the “Aquatic Wild Meat” workstream for the next 3 years. More 📹👇
youtube.com/shorts/FKWsq...
The Fifteenth Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS COP15) has closed in Campo Grande, Brazil and the outcomes for migratory marine species give reason for cautious optimism. 🐋
@cms.int
Learn more 📹👇
youtube.com/shorts/lhXJS...
🌊 Der deutsche Bundesrat ebnet nun auch den weiteren Weg für Deutschlands Beitritt zum BBNJ-Abkommen! Ein wichtiges Signal während der #PrepCom3 in NY, der letzten Sitzung vor #BBNJCOP1. OceanCare begrüsst diesen Schritt.
#BBNJ @highseasalliance.bsky.social @umweltministerium.de
🐬 At #CMSCOP15 OceanCare's partner organisation #BEES delivered an intervention supporting the continuation & expansion of the Aquatic Wild Meat workstream, addressing the harvest & consumption of protected marine species in coastal communities. OceanCare strongly supports this call.
@cms.int
2/2 #Seamounts are critical oases along migration routes for feeding, breeding, and spawning areas. Less than 1% are protected. That needs to change. 🌊 #CMSCOP15 #Seamounts
👉 Watch the intervention by OceanCare's Laetitia Nunny: www.youtube.com/live/Eye2WiL...
@cms.int
Yesterday at #CMSCOP15, OceanCare delivered a joint intervention on behalf of @deepseaconserve.bsky.social, BirdLife, @ifawglobal.bsky.social, @wcs.org, and WWF in support of the Resolution on Conserving Seamount Ecosystems. 1/2
At #CMSCOP15, OceanCare's Mark Simmonds, CMS's Councillor for Marine Pollution, joined a side event on why the oldest animals in migratory populations are irreplaceable. They carry knowledge about migration routes & foraging strategies. Protecting species means protecting their wisdom too.🐋
@cms.int
2/2 Migration routes and foraging tactics are passed between generations through social learning. When migratory species are facing extinction, that knowledge disappears too. Protecting migratory species means protecting their cultures. 🐋
👉 Read more: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
Yesterday at #CMSCOP15, OceanCare welcomed the groundbreaking work of the CMS Animal Culture Expert Working Group and the publication of a landmark special issue in the Royal Society Philosophical Transactions B on animal culture and conservation. 1/2
@cms.int
Day 1 at #CMSCOP15: Brazilian scientist Alex Zerbini opened with a powerful presentation, highlighting the vulnerability of the world’s migratory whales. He also noted, that protecting these species requires coordinated action across CMS, the IWC, and the BBNJ Agreement.
@cms.int
2/2 The ocean is on the frontlines of the biodiversity and climate crises. #BBNJPrepCom3 must lay the foundations for COP1 to move quickly from process to results, including those that lead to a reduction in plastic pollution and underwater noise.
Read more: www.oceancare.org/en/stories_a...
BBNJ Agreement: PrepCom 3 Hoists the Sails for High Seas Action.
🌊 PrepCom 3 is underway! From 23 March to 2 April, governments meet for the final Preparatory Commission before the first #BBNJCOP. This is a critical moment towards turning global commitments into real protection of the ocean.
#HighSeasTreaty @highseasalliance.bsky.social
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6) Adoption of the Aquatic Wild Meat Action Plan, addressing the harvest and consumption of dolphins, turtles, and other protected marine species by coastal communities 🐟
There is no alternative to comprehensive, collaborative, and precautionary action.
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4) The establishment of a permanent working group of experts to address marine pollution 🧪
5) Concerted Actions for sperm whales in the Eastern Tropical Pacific, and the Franciscana dolphin, and Lahille's bottlenose dolphin in Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay 🐬
2/4 We are calling on Parties to:
1) A resolution to protect seamount ecosystems, as many migratory species depend on them for survival 🌋
2) Upholding the precautionary position on deep-sea mining ⛏️
3) Support the proposed listing of seven shark species, including the scalloped hammerhead shark 🦈
Tomorrow, #CMSCOP15 opens in Campo Grande at the gates of the Pantanal, one of the world's most extraordinary ecosystems. OceanCare's expert team will be on the ground in Brazil, engaged across the issues that matter most for migratory marine species. 1/4
@cms.int
🐋Las colisiones con barcos amenazan a los #cetáceos. Reducir la velocidad de los buques puede salvar ballenas. Carlos Bravo de OceanCare y @ecologistasenaccion.org estuvieron en #españolesenlamar reclamando mayor protección en aguas españolas. @radionacional.bsky.social
www.rtve.es/play/audios/...
3/3 Monaco and Panama have also proposed a resolution urging governments to prioritise seamount protection within and beyond national jurisdiction. #OceanCare supports full adoption of the proposed resolutions at CMS COP15. 🌊
2/3 🦈 The scalloped hammerhead shark, assessed as critically endangered by the #IUCN, also depends on seamounts. At #CMSCOP15 this week, it is proposed for full international protection for the first time which is essential as the population has decreased by over 80% in the last 72 years.
@cms.int
1/3 Fewer than 1% of seamounts are effectively protected, yet these underwater mountains are critical oases for migratory species like sperm whales, sharks, and sea turtles. 58% lie in the high seas, where no single country has the authority to act alone. 🌊 #CMSCOP15
4/4 That is why @cms.int exists. Next week, governments gather in Campo Grande for CMS COP15. OceanCare will be there, working for stronger protection for migratory species in the ocean. Follow our coverage. 🌊
3/4 Destructive fishing, pollution, including underwater noise, vessel strikes, & climate change: Migratory species are facing a multitude of threats. And emerging threats like deep-sea mining risk adding to the pressure before we even fully understand the consequences.
2/4 In the ocean: sharks and rays have lost half their populations since 1970. Hammerhead sharks, devil rays, and sawfishes are among the most threatened species on the planet. Sea turtles show fragile signs of recovery, but bycatch remains their greatest threat.
49% of migratory species are declining. 24% face extinction. The latest science, released just ahead of #CMSCOP15 in Brazil, leaves no doubt about the urgency of this moment. 🌊
Link to the State of the World’s Migratory Species Interim Report (2026):
www.cms.int/publication/...
@cms.int
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4/4 The Remaining Carbon Budget Report by BC3, commissioned by OceanCare, shows a joint pathway is possible: A comprehensive Regional Mitigation Action Plan, rooted in the Barcelona Convention, backed by the #EU. Range States must act together.
Link to report: www.oceancare.org/wp-content/u...
3/4 Keynote speakers from the @ec.europa.eu and UNEP/MAP highlighted the EU's Pact for the Mediterranean & Barcelona Convention as key frameworks.
@unep.org