The Greenpeace ship Esperanza freed tuna, sharks, marlin and an endangered sea turtle from a Taiwanese longliner on Saturday. The vessel was fishing in the Pacific Commons, the international waters we want to see protected as a marine reserve.
The oceans are in deep peril and need drastic action. Marine reserves could be the answer, according to a report released by the World Watch Institute and Greenpeace.
Here's a tip: When painting a new name on your blacklisted pirate fishing vessel, go someplace further than five minutes walking distance from a Greenpeace office. LATEST NEWS: The plot thickens.
During our Pacific expedition, Greenpeace has patrolled 30,000 square miles of ocean. In two months of joint surveillance with enforcement officials from two countries, we have inspected eight suspicious fishing vessels, found a warehouse full of definned shark carcases and spent a night fishing on a longliner .
Fishing and prostitution might be the two oldest professions. But the exploitation of both is creating new vulnerabilities for Pacific islands as the whole world increasingly comes to fish in its waters. Ben Bohane reports from Kiribati.
If current (over) fishing trends in the Pacific continue then local communities in this region will face a drastic depletion in their future food resources.
Tuna stocks worldwide are being critically overfished. More than half of the world’s tuna comes from the Pacific yet two species in this region – Pacific bigeye and yellowfin – will be commercially extinct within three years.
An Australian owned mine in the Philippines is discharging highly toxic chemicals into the surrounding waters of Rapu Rapu island.
Not only is the mine Australian owned but the ANZ bank is funding its operations.
