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The laws prohibit the use of polystyrene foam for food service containers, including takeout boxes and cups, and ban the intentional release of balloons into the environment.

Both polystyrene foam and balloons contribute to the plastic entering our oceans every year.

A report by Virginia Clean Waterways found that balloons are among the deadliest and most common types of marine debris found on Virginia’s beaches.

The governor’s action follows campaigning by Oceana and allies to stop plastic pollution at the source by urging government decisionmakers to pass policies that reduce the production and use of single-use plastics.

For the first time, the Pacific Fishery Management Council adopted ocean salmon fishing regulations to help save critically endangered Southern Resident orcas from extinction.

Only and their survival relies on the abundance of their preferred prey, Chinook salmon.

Sixteen Southern Resident orcas have died since starvation.

Chinook salmon populations are also struggling due to a combination of fishing pressure, habitat loss, and dams that obstruct spawning.

Oceana and our allies campaigned for the new measures, which trigger mandatory fishing reductions and area closures if Chinook salmon numbers off the coast of Washington and Northern Oregon drop below 966,000.

delivered $California to officially activate a 2018 state law to end the last large-mesh drift gillnet fishing for swordfish in the U.S. by January 2024.

The law establishes a transition program for fishermen to surrender nets and state permits and incentivizes the use of clean gear.

Generous donors including the Marisla Foundation, Offield Family Foundation, Orange County Community Foundation, Sue J. Gross Foundation, and others provided the necessary funding to secure this victory.

For years, Oceana and our allies campaigned for the California bill to end this destructive form of fishing, which is notorious for its indiscriminate catch of marine life including whales, dolphins, and sea turtles.

Oceana is also campaigning for a federal law to end the use of drift gillnets nationwide.

© Shutterstock/Erin Cadigan In the United States, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam signed a bill into law that protects Virginia’s beautiful and abundant ocean by prohibiting the exploration, development, and production of offshore oil and gas drilling in state waters, which extend three nautical miles (5.6 kilometers) from their coast.

The law also prohibits construction of any infrastructure to support drilling off Virginia’s coast, and prevents the state’s agencies from taking any action to facilitate oil and gas production.

Offshore drilling threatens more than from fishing tourism and recreation along Virginia’s 3,300-mile coastline.

This action follows grassroots organizing and campaigning by Oceana and our allies.

The Scottish Government announced the designation of a new Scottish Nature Conservation marine protected area (MPA) for the Southern Trench, which is located off the northeast coast of Scotland.

This MPA will grant protection to a rich array of marine life including minke whales, elegant sea pens, and tube anemones.

Using evidence collected during a previous expedition, Oceana built a case for the Southern Trench’s protection.

Oceana continues to campaign for measures that would safeguard the Southern Trench and other important sites, including banning destructive bottom-towed fishing gear in all MPAs.

In the U.S., the California Department of Fish and Wildlife published new regulations to reduce entanglements of endangered humpback whales, blue whales, and Pacific leatherback sea turtles in the state’s commercial Dungeness crab fishery, following campaigning by Oceana and our allies.

In recent years, whales have ventured closer to shore in search of food and subsequently into Dungeness crab fishing grounds, resulting in a major increase in entanglements off the U.S. West Coast, which can often prove fatal.

California’s new regulations require closures or reductions in the number of traps in certain Dungeness crab fishing areas when higher concentrations of whales or sea turtles are present.

The regulations also allow for the use of approved alternative fishing gear that lowers the risk of entanglement, such as “pop-up” or “ropeless” gear, in areas closed to conventional gear.

Following campaigning by Oceana and coalition partners in the U.S., Maryland enacted a new law prohibiting intentional balloon releases statewide.

Balloons released into the air can eventually enter the oceans where they can harm and choke marine life.

Under the new law, a person who is at least an organization, cannot intentionally release balloons or organize balloon releases.

Reducing single-use plastics, including balloons, is critical to the health of Maryland’s coasts and waterways and the on a clean coast.

Oceana continues to campaign to stop plastic pollution by urging other local, state, and federal decisionmakers to pass policies that reduce the production and use of single-use plastics.

U.S. Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed a bill into law that limits the use of unnecessary singleuse plastic across the state, following campaigning by Oceana and our allies in the Pacific Northwest.

The new law bans the manufacture, sale, and distribution of certain expanded polystyrene foam products, including foodware, packing peanuts, and foam coolers.

It also requires dining establishments to only provide single-use plastic utensils, straws, cold-beverage cup lids, and condiment packaging if requested by customers.

Finally, the law establishes post-consumer recycled-content standards for plastic beverage bottles, personal care products, home cleaning products, and trash bags.

Many of the items this law limits or bans are unlikely to be recycled and often make their way into our oceans, where they can harm marine life and ecosystems.

Washington is now the first state on the West Coast and the seventh in the country to ban polystyrene foam food containers, as well as the first state to ban foam plastic coolers.

© Shutterstock/Al McGlashan The government of Belize signed an agreement with Oceana and Global Fishing Watch (GFW) to make its vessel tracking data publicly available on the GFW platform.

This will allow anyone to monitor all of Belize’s flagged commercial fishing vessels in near real-time.

The agreement is the result of Oceana’s collaboration with the government to increase transparency of Belizean-flagged fishing vessels on the high seas.

As part of a package of reforms to counter illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing by its flagged vessels, Belize has made decisive improvements toward the monitoring and regulation of its flagged vessels on the high seas.

In Belizean imports after the bloc’s IUU Regulation issued Belize a red card because of IUU activities.

The EU red card was subsequently removed in response to the Government of Belize’s legislative and administrative changes.

Oceana will continue to campaign for the government to progress in the fight against illegal fishing.

In the United States, NOAA Fisheries issued a final rule to protect over square kilometers) of deep-sea coral habitat in New England’s Georges Bank and the Gulf of Maine from destructive fishing gear, following campaigning by Oceana and our allies.

The action protects centuries-old corals and fish habitat from destructive bottom trawling.

The area protected is roughly equivalent to the size of Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Rhode Island combined, bringing the total protected deep-sea coral areas in the U.S. Atlantic to nearly square miles (223,000 square kilometers).

Oceana continues to identify and protect deep-sea coral areas from destructive fishing methods, while maintaining robust fisheries, as part of our “freeze the footprint” strategy.

Oceana/Lucas Zañartu The Chilean government unanimously passed an ambitious law reducing single-use plastic pollution from the food and beverage industries, following campaigning by Oceana and our allies.

The law prohibits all eating establishments from providing plastic tableware, such as cutlery, straws, and Styrofoam utensils.

It also stipulates that any disposable tableware provided by delivery and take-out facilities must be made from materials other than plastic or made of certified plastic.

Lastly, the law requires stores to actively display, sell, and receive refillable bottles, and will allow single-use bottles only if they contain recycled material that was collected in Chile.

Refillable bottle systems are a pragmatic and immediate solution to decrease the that pollute the ocean every year.

This legislation would not have been possible without a report by Oceana and Plastics Oceans Chile which found that over used in restaurants, bars, cafes, and delivery food companies every year in Chile, as well as a report from Oceana on the benefits of using refillable bottles over single-use bottles.

Oceana’s expedition to Aberdeenshire, Scotland in 2017 played a major role in the recent creation of the Scottish Nature Conservation marine protected area (for more, see page 22).

On The Water Around the world, Oceana’s expeditions bring to life the essential underwater areas that we seek to preserve.

We document unique habitats and – using the photos, video, and scientific data gathered on our expeditions – collaborate with local communities and allies to persuade policymakers to protect these exceptional places.

Oceana’s expeditions have resulted in many campaign victories, including new protections for deep-sea corals and sponges off the U.S. coast of Oregon and California, and the creation of a marine park surrounding Chile’s Juan Fernández Islands (an area larger than the landmass of the United Kingdom).

In another victory, Oceana collected data in the Baltic Sea, then used that information to convince the European Union to enact the first-ever fishing ban in Denmark’s marine parks, protecting sensitive reefs from destructive fishing gear.

Since Oceana’s maiden voyage across the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea in and conducted thousands of ocean surveys.

Oceana found an array of plastic objects, like this singleserving container of Danone yogurt and plastic bag, on the seafloor off Valencia, Spain in October 2020.

In October survey to assess the impact of plastics on the seafloor in different marine habitats, including vulnerable ones like seagrass meadows and algae forests in the Mediterranean.

The survey focused on multiple sites in Valencia’s coastal zone, an area with highly populated cities and towns, as well as resorts, hotels, and beachfronts that cater to tourists.

The survey uncovered an alarming number of plastics on the seabed, despite decreased tourism due to the pandemic.

Singleuse plastics – from food containers to bags to hygiene products – were the most common plastic items found on the seafloor.

While larger plastics were mostly found closer to the coast, smaller pieces of plastic (including microplastics) were found further out at sea.

Using these findings, Oceana continues to advocate for measures that reduce single-use plastics to prevent them from entering the ocean in the first place.

© Nunatsiavut Government and Oceana Canada Safety diver Karina Erazo holds a piece of plastic during Oceana’s seafloor plastics survey expedition.

This piece of plastic is almost as big as the sea star next to it.

Single-use plastics harm marine life in various ways, including injuries and deaths associated with ingestion and entanglements.

Plastic found on the ocean’s surface accounts for only plastic litter that pollutes the ocean.

The remaining in the deep sea or on the seabed.

A soft drink can is surrounded by pieces of plastic.

Oceana, along with a team of scientists and photographers, embarked on a to the waters surrounding Panaon Island in October and November 2020.

This small island in Southern Leyte province forms part of the “Coral Triangle,” an area in the western Pacific Ocean with high biodiversity.

Oceana’s team assessed the condition of Panaon’s corals, with the ultimate goal of persuading the federal government to make it a marine protected area (MPA).

Oceana determined that Panaon’s coral reefs range in condition from good to excellent.

This was encouraging news, considering that the country’s coral reefs have been steadily declining over the last 40 years.

The overwhelming majority – around 95% – are at risk.

Despite being home to abundant corals and reef fish, Panaon also faces threats.

Ghost nets, plastic debris, fishing lines, and fish traps were all found in this area.

Oceana is campaigning for strengthened management and support to preserve this pristine area.

A school of red-cheeked fairy basslets (Pseudanthias huchtii) swim near a gorgonian coral.

© Oceana/Danny Ocampo Soft and hard corals like these provide essential habitat to various species of reef fish.

Oceana/Danny Ocampo Researchers say in corals in the Asia-Pacific region alone, according to estimates based on a 2018 scientific survey of 159 coral reefs.

Panaon Island is home to a variety of colorful corals, including red-orange seafans (seen on the left) and yellow fire corals (peeking out on the right).

A trawler was photographed during Oceana’s North Sea expedition in 2017.

Oceana is currently campaigning to restore fish stocks in this area.

It has been estimated that the maximum sustainable yield of fisheries in the North Sea, if all stocks were exploited at sustainable levels, could reach some amount of current catches.

38 Oceana achieves its goals by identifying the key decision-makers and then leveraging science, law, grassroots engagement, advocacy, and strategic communications to win victories for the oceans.

Oceana wins victories for the oceans through effective campaigns based in science and research.

Amazon’s Plastic Problem Revealed Oceana analyzed e-commerce packaging data and estimated Amazon’s plastic footprint.

Oceana found that the company generated million pounds (211 million kilograms) of plastic packaging waste in 2019, and an estimated 22.4 million pounds (10.2 million kilograms) of that waste entered freshwater and marine ecosystems.

Increase Transparency Seafood Fraud in Peru A report by Oceana and Pro Delphinus revealed that seafood mislabeling is rampant in the cities of Lima, Chiclayo, and Piura.

Oceana’s DNA analysis determined that samples analyzed did not match the species they were marketed as.

Oceana campaigns for boat-to-plate traceability, which would improve species data and take the guesswork out of shopping for seafood.

The report also calls for fishery management measures, such as fishing quotas and minimum size restrictions, as well as improved methods of inspection to monitor for substitution or fraud.

The Edge of Extinction: Protecting North Atlantic Right Whales Oceana Canada outlined the plight of one of the most endangered marine mammals on the planet – the North Atlantic right whale – and highlighted steps the federal government must take to protect the remaining few and help ensure the species’ survival.

Other transparency reports: Other reports on protecting species: Law Oceana leverages the law to ensure that protections are enforced and policies are effectively implemented.

Our legal efforts help to win victories by ensuring that governments finalize new rules and protections, follow science-based management principles, and enforce key provisions of laws.