Greenpeace activists get in the way of the Estonian bottom trawler, Lootus II in the foggy NW Atlantic. Greenpeace is calling on governments to endorse a UN moratorium on high seas bottom trawling because it is an unsustainable fishing technique that has destructive impacts on the marine ecosystems and poses serious threats to deep sea fish species.
The Greenpeace ship Esperanza has been observing the Lootus II
for 30 hours, 18 of which she has been bottom trawling
continuously, which is highly irregular. Greenpeace suspects that
they are refusing to haul in their nets because they are being
watched.
"It's a scandal that this boat is even permitted to bottom trawl
here or anywhere. Not only does the Lootus II have an appalling
record of breaking the rules here in the Northwest Atlantic, but
its owners are connected with the illegal fishing of Patagonian
toothfish in the Southern Ocean," said Bunny McDiarmid on board the
Esperanza.
The Lootus II has been cited seven times since 2000 for breaking
NAFO (1) rules (2). The Estonian Company MFV Lootus OU is the
registered owner of the Lootus II. In 2004 the Spanish company
Grupo Oya Perez, through one of its subsidiaries became a
shareholder of the Estonian company. Grupo Oya Perez is the owner
of the notorious pirate Patagonian toothfish vessel, the Ross
(3).
Greenpeace is calling on Estonia and Spain to explain why it is
allowing vessels, owned by a company with a criminal fishing
history to continue fishing in the Northwest Atlantic management
area also known as NAFO.
In 2003 and in 2004, the EU delegation to the NAFO meeting
included three members from Grupo Oya Perez. The EU and NAFO must
be aware that this company's fishing vessels have been involved in
illegal toothfish fishing in southern waters, but despite this they
are invited to participate in NAFO decisions on fisheries
conservation matters and measures to deter Illegal, Unregulated and
Unreporting (IUU) operations.
"The Lootus II is the worst example of NAFO not working.
Allowing IUU operators to sit at the table making decisions about
fisheries management that their vessels will then simply ignore is
like inviting the wolf into the chicken house", added
McDiarmid.
The Esperanza is in the NAFO area to highlight the destructive
impact of bottom trawling in support of the call by more than 1,100
marine scientists and environmental organisations for a UN
moratorium on high-seas bottom trawling. The Esperanza has observed
20 boats bottom trawling in the area from Japan, Spain, Estonia,
Latvia, Canada, Lithuania, Iceland and Portugal and documented a
number of these during their trawling and hauling operations. The
next meeting of NAFO parties will take place in September 2005 in
Tallinn, Estonia.
Other contacts: Bunny McDiarmid, Greenpeace International Oceans Campaigner, on board the Esperanza +00871 324469014
Notes: 1. Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (NAFO) is a regional body designed to manage the fishing in international waters off the coast of Canada.2. The Lootus II has been cited seven times since 2000 for NAFO violations including fishing for species under moratoria and exceeding by-catch regulations. The latest citation was December 2004.3. The Ross under a variety of names has been photographed illegally fishing for toothfish in the sub Antarctic in 2003 and again in 2005 fishing in an area closed to fishing by CCAMLR (The Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources). The Ross is also on Norway's blacklist of fishing vessels.4. Citizens can participate in an online alert urging decision makers to support a moratorium on high seas bottom trawling at http://www.greenpeace.org/stop-bottom-trawling5. For details of the tour and to follow the Esperanza's diary visit:http://weblog.greenpeace.org/deepsea.
Exp. contact date: 2005-08-15 00:00:00