I'm pretty excited about the new Pirates of the Caribbean. It doesn't open here in Amsterdam for a few more days, but it's already got me thinking about the different types of pirates.
See, you've got your swashbuckling, maiden rescuing loveable rapscallion pirates - and then you've got real life. In real life, pirates are stealing fish as if it were gold from the sea. Officially it's what is known as Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing, and it definitely doesn’t involve Johnny Depp.
This plunder of the fish stocks is serious business. It makes regulating and protecting fish stocks impossible, and takes fish away from legitimate fishermen. If only they at least sang hearty pirate songs, or at least owned a parrot... But sadly no.
There's more about pirate fishing on the Defending Our Oceans site.
And you can read about an encounter with real life "pirates of the Mediterranean" on the Rainbow Warrior crew weblog.