The Greenpeace ships MY Esperanza and MY Arctic Sunrise in Cape Town on the day of the launch of the most ambitious ship expedition the organization has ever undertaken to protect and restore the health of the world's oceans.
The expedition will begin this weekend when two Greenpeace
ships, the MY Esperanza and the MY Arctic Sunrise, leave Cape Town
to oppose continued whaling in the Southern Ocean Whale
Sanctuary.
Flying in the face of international protest and repeated calls
from the International Whaling Commission (IWC) to stop the annual
hunt, this year the Fisheries Agency of Japan (FAJ) intends to more
than double its catch of minke whales to 935. Adding insult to
injury this year 10 fin whales will also be caught in the
harpooner's sights. Next year 40 more fin whales will be added
along with 50 humpback whales. Both are recognised as endangered
species.
"Even though the ban on commercial whaling has been agreed, the
international community has failed to stop the hunt. Starting with
the easiest whales to catch, vast whaling fleets have pushed one
species after another to the brink of extinction. Greenpeace is
heading once more to the Sanctuary to defend the whales and call
for an immediate end to the hunt" said Shane Rattenbury, head of
Greenpeace's Oceans Campaign. "The persecution of the great whales
is a tragic echo of what is happening throughout our oceans,"
Rattenbury added.
Every second breath we take comes from the oceans - they give
the planet half of its oxygen. In return we suffocate them with
pollution, warm them with climate change and empty them of fish.
Countless factory ships scour and devour all life in their path
with destructive techniques like bottom trawling. It is time to
face facts, time to begin defending our oceans. "Only through
establishing and enforcing a vast network of marine reserves can we
reverse the decline and guarantee our children's right to inherit
healthy seas," added Rattenbury.
After returning from the Southern Ocean the Esperanza will
continue on its 14 month expedition across four of the five oceans,
to highlight their wonders and the threats they face, all the while
mapping and demonstrating the need for a global network of marine
reserves (4).
To help in the campaign Greenpeace is planning to gather a
million "Ocean Defenders" through the course of the expedition -
supporters who will join the call for action.
The Esperanza, the newest of the Greenpeace ships, has been
fitted with new hi-tech equipment for the voyage, including 24/7
internet that will enable the ship to interact with supporters,
below the water line cameras, a Remote Operating Vehicle camera and
web cams. The crew will be blogging, podcasting and vlogging (video
blogging) from the ship and producing programmes for the newly
created web-based Greenpeace TV.
Other contacts: Sara Holden, Greenpeace International Communications in Cape Town: + 27 734 880 934 (S.A mobile) + 31 615 007 406 (Dutch mobile) Mike Townsley: Greenpeace International Communications in Cape Town: + 27 839 758 778 (S.A mobile) + 31 6 212 969 18 (Dutch mobile)Shane Rattenbury: Greenpeace International Ocean Campaign Coordinator, in Cape Town: + 31 646 177 538 (Dutch mobile)
VVPR info: Video: Maarten Van Rouveroy, in Amsterdam: + 31 653 504 721Photo: John Novis, in Amsterdam: + 31 653 819 121
Notes: (1) Pew Institute for Ocean Science(2) Greenpeace is calling for 40% of the world's oceans to be designated as marine reserves. A global network of marine reserves would cost $12 billion dollars a year - the same as is spent annually on perfume in the US and Europe.(3) A loophole in the 1986 international moratorium on commercial whaling governed by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) allows "scientific" whaling. The IWC established the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary in 1994.For more information, images and videos about the Defending Our Oceans campaign and Southern Ocean Whaling go to: oceans.greenpeace.org
Exp. contact date: 2005-12-18 00:00:00