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EU destroying deep sea life

Greenpeace climbers scale the top of the main towers of the cathedral La Sagrada Familia (The Sacred Family) and unfurl banners which read SAVE OUR SEAS.The action is timed for The Program of United Nations for the Environment in Barcelona, where discussion will take place for the future of the world's oceans. Enlarge Image

Greenpeace climbers net Barcelona landmark

Tourists got more than they bargained for this morning when they turned up at Spanish architect Gaudi's landmark cathedral, Sagrada Familia, in Barcelona. Greenpeace activists, clinging to the famous spires like orange-clad gargoyles, had added a splash of colour that even Gaudi hadn't imagined by hanging large banners saying "SOS" and "Save Our Seas" in a bid to catch the attention of the UN Environment meeting happening just down the road.

The catch is hauled aboard the NZ deep sea trawler Corsair in international waters in the Tasman sea. The red fish is Orange Roughy, the rest is mostly bycatch to be discarded. Enlarge Image

Bottom Trawlers: caught red-handed

Looks like somebody was throwing us a red herring. Last week, Greenpeace activists targeted the Nelson, New Zealand headquarters of the Orange Roughy Management Company (ORMC) in a peaceful protest against destructive bottom trawling. Their Chief Executive denied operating in international waters. But guess what our ship, Rainbow Warrior, just found?

A Greenpeace activist on the Rainbow Warrior holds a ghost shark recovered during the day from bycatch discarded by the deep sea trawler Chang Xing in international waters in the Tasman Sea. Greenpeace along with more than a thousand scientists are supporting the call for a moratorium on high seas bottom trawling, because of the vast amount of marine life that is destroyed by this fishing method. Enlarge Image

Bottom Trawling: the hard evidence

LATEST UPDATE: UN fails to protect deep seas
United Nations delegates are standing on the brink of rejecting an opportunity to protect high seas biodiversity. At the same time, the Greenpeace flagship the Rainbow Warrior has discovered hard evidence of the indiscriminate destruction happening right now - including rare and protected species.

Unwanted bycatch, including a starfish, far outweighs the target catch of orange roughy in a deep sea trawl from international waters in the Tasman Sea. Greenpeace along with more than a thousand scientists are supporting the call for a moratorium on high seas bottom trawling, because of the vast amount of marine life that is destroyed by this fishing method. Enlarge Image

UN fails deep seas

They already had the opinion of thousands of scientists and a coalition of environment and wildlife groups. Then we gave them a petition signed by over 6000 cyberactivists. If that wasn't enough, the Rainbow Warrior documented actual hard evidence of the destruction of protected species in the Tasman Sea and beamed it all the way to New York. But still, the UN has this week failed to seize a crucial opportunity to halt high-seas bottom trawling.

Greenpeace activists are thrown into the sea during their protest against the Lithuanian registered bottom trawling fishing boat ANUVA. Since the early hours of the morning twelve activists have been occupying the trawler, stopping her from setting her nets. Greenpeace is calling for a moratorium on high sea bottom trawling at the UN General Assembly in New York this week. Enlarge Image

Deep sea destroyer disabled

It's 10pm, in the middle of the North Atlantic. I'm sitting in the campaign office, just behind the bridge of the Esperanza, still wrapped in layers of thermal gear, as I've just spent six hours out in the dark, in an inflatable. But while I'm sitting here, in relative comfort, three of our guys are on board a Lithuanian-flagged bottom trawler, the Anuva. It's going to be a long night.

Greenpeace appeal against sea bottom trawling at the United Nations. Things might be better for our oceans if Mr. Squid were Secretary Tentacle of the UN. Enlarge Image

UN fails to protect seamounts

Latest Update: what happened at the UN
Security was tight and fidgety. The cameras were ready to record the moment. Our Greenpeace activist was camouflaged to blend in to her surroundings. She had borne witness to an environmental crime: the bulldozing of fragile ocean seamounts. And she was in the presence of people who could do something about it. At the appointed moment, she leapt into the spotlight to demand action, not words.

The Rainbow Warrior departing from Waitamata harbour in Auckland for its research expedition looking at deep sea fishing and the effects on the fisheries and sea bed. Enlarge Image

Rainbow Warrior begins mission

There were two Rainbow Warriors in Matauri Bay, New Zealand, yesterday - one above and one below the water. The crew - safely stationed on the Warrior above the water - had the surreal experience of paying their respects to their ship's namesake before setting off on a mission to end the destructive practice of bottom trawling.

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More destruction 23/10/2004 - A bright orange spider crab with an almost two metre span and black-skinned, luminous-eyed sharks as well as many other rare creatures were all dumped from the nets of an EU bottom trawling vessel, the Esperanza crew has revealed. Read press release Greenpeace activist holds spectacular crab killed by bottom trawling Keep up to date with the Esperanza via our North Atlantic weblog.