Press release - 2 August, 2005
Greenpeace is calling on the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (NAFO) to impose an immediate moratorium on high seas bottom trawling, so that vulnerable areas of deep-sea biodiversity that exist within its boundaries can be clearly identified and protected before it is too late.
The fishing boat Santa Cristina, from Portugal, bottom trawls for Deep Sea Red Fish (Sabastes Marinus) at depths of 650 meters in the North Atlantic Ocean.The Greenpeace ship Esperanza is currently documenting the shrimp bottom trawl fishery.
The Greenpeace ship Esperanza, is currently documenting the
shrimp bottom trawl fishery on the Flemish Cap in the NW Atlantic
where they have filmed six bottom trawlers (1) in the last 24
hours. The trawlers are all setting two nets at a time with up to
25 tons of gear going onto the seabed at once. The nets are 200 to
300 meters long and are weighted with heavy steel balls called
rockhoppers that prevent the nets from snagging on the bottom. The
boats are working 24 hours and hauling every four to seven hours.
There is no quota set for the NAFO 3M area but a catch allocation
scheme that assigns a number of days and vessels to countries that
can fish the area.
The Flemish Cap is also a "biodiversity hotspot" for soft corals
according to two Canadian scientists (2). The information is drawn
from recent fisheries observer reports and the corals includes cup
corals and gold banded corals and in the same area are seapens.
"Next to nothing is known about these corals and very little
work has been done to establish how common they are and yet bottom
trawling these areas is allowed" said Bunny McDiarmid on board the
Esperanza. "NAFO has a blind spot that is resulting in the needless
destruction of deep sea life." "NAFO concentrates on the fish
stocks under its care and pays little attention to the habitat they
live in. There is no protection in place for these vulnerable
corals or any other such areas within the NAFO area," added
McDiarmid.
The shrimp fishery got underway after the collapse of the
groundfish fisheries in the area in the 1990s. The Flemish Cap
shrimp fishery is the largest bottom trawl fishery in international
waters, and in 2001 it equaled approximately one-quarter to
one-third of the catch and value of high seas bottom trawl
fisheries worldwide. (3)
"The shrimp boats are trawling up and down the same area as if
ploughing the seabed", said McDiarmid. "Talking with some of the
fishermen on board the vessels we were told that the shrimp are
getting smaller and the boats are getting bigger. Many of these
fishermen acknowledge the need for regulation despite their
resistance."
Greenpeace together with the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition (4)
is calling for a UN moratorium on highseas bottom trawling to allow
scientists the time to identify and assess deep-sea biodiversity
and to institute the protection required before it is too late.
Other contacts: On board the ship: Bunny McDiarmid +00871 324469014Racine Tucker-Hamilton-+1 202-436-1039
VVPR info: For photos, John Novis, Greenpeace International Photo Desk, +31 653 819 121
Notes: 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-trawlingFor details of the tour and to follow the Esperanza's diary visit: http://weblog.greenpeace.org/deepsea.(1) Petur Jonsson Iceland; Lomur 2 Estonian; Ontika Estonian; Sunna Estonian; Borkin Lithuanian; Andvari Estonian; (2) "Concentration of Deep Sea Coral and Fish Habitat in the Newfoundland and Labrador Region" Evan Edinger and Vonda Wareham(3) Gianni, M. "High seas Bottom Trawl Fisheries and Their Impact on the Biodiversity of Vulnerable Deep-Sea Ecosystems"(4) www.savethehighseas.org
Exp. contact date: 2005-08-14 00:00:00