Frozen tuna being transhipped on lines in air between ships.
Greenpeace and the Environmental Justice Foundation are
workingtogether to expose the pirate fishing fleets that operate
withoutsanction across the globe. Together the international
environment andhuman rights organisations are demanding that
governments close portsto ban pirates, deny them access to markets
and prosecute companiessupporting them.
Globally,pirate fishing could be worth anywhere between US$4
billion andUS$9billion a year - 20% of the total fish catch. It is
estimated thatpirate fishing just in sub Saharan Africa is worth
US$1billion dollarsannually, while in the waters of the Southern
Ocean, up to 50% of thevaluable Patagonian Toothfish may come from
illegal activities. Furthernorth in the Baltic Sea 40% of the cod
caught in 2002/2003 is estimatedto have been taken illegal.
In the Atlantic Ocean alone, piratevessels cash in on the
lucrative market for tuna, taking thousands oftons of fish, in
complete contravention of international regulations.The fish are
then transferred to refrigerated cargo ships, known asreefers,
"laundered" through legal ports and sold on into the market.
"Piratefishing of Atlantic tuna is just one example of a global
problem inevery ocean and with almost every type of fish." said
Sebastian Losadaof Greenpeace Spain. "Fish on dinner plates around
the world are stolenfrom someone else's ocean, denying them food
and income. It is a hiddencrime that governments have the power to
stop now."
The impacton fish stocks is matched by the devastation of marine
life throughpirate fishing. Reeling out lines sometimes 100 km long
with tens ofthousands of baited hooks, the pirates also snare
turtles, sharks andseabirds. Millions are thrown overboard dead or
dying as unwantedbycatch every year.
The Esperanza sails to the Atlantic justdays before the
ministerial level High Seas Task Force (2) meets toannounce how it
plans to further discuss the problem of pirate fishing.
"Five years ago governments agreed an International Plan of
Action onpirate fishing - what's left to discuss?" said Helene
Bours of theEnvironmental Justice Foundation. "Governments need to
stop talking andstart acting. Closing ports, markets and
prosecuting companies will ridthe oceans of pirate fishermen - it
is simply a matter of politicalwill, not further debate."
Other contacts: On Board the MY Esperanza:Sebastian Losada, Greenpeace SpainHelene Bours, Environmental Justice FoundationSara Holden: Greenpeace International CommunicationsAll on: + 31 20 718 2703Also available in Cape Town:Sarah Duthie: + 44 771 770 4595
VVPR info: For visuals please contact: Maarten van Rouveroy (M) +31 646 197 322 for footage and Franca Michienzi for stills (M) +31(0) 6 53819255
Notes: (1) Pirate fishing is Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported (IUU) fishing.(2) The OECD High Seas Task Force, which is made up by fisheries ministers from Australia, Canada, Chile, Namibia, New Zealand and the UK, will meet in Paris on March 2nd & 3rdThe drive to make piracy history is the second leg of a 14-month global expedition "Defending Our Oceans", the most ambitious ship expedition ever undertaken by Greenpeace to expose the threats to the oceans and demand a global network of properly enforced marine reserves covering 40% of the worlds oceans. Already 45,000 people have become Ocean Defenders to echo the call. Greenpeace aims to gather a million Ocean Defenders by the end of theexpedition in February 2007. oceans.greenpeace.org
Exp. contact date: 2006-02-27 00:00:00