A vast chain of underwater mountains<\/strong>, the Emperor Seamounts are surrounded by water columns which are enjoyed by tuna, along with blue, sperm and humpback whales<\/strong>. The seabed below is home to a variety of coral and sponges<\/strong>, and various seabirds \u2014 like the ancient Albatross<\/strong> \u2014 fill the skies above. <\/p>\n\n \u201cThe Emperor Seamounts are a remarkable biological hotspot, teeming with life,\u201d explains Helena Pirhonen, Fundraising Lead on the Greenpeace International Oceans are Life campaign. \u201cUnfortunately, this is exactly why they have been targeted heavily by industrial fishing. They need to be protected to allow life there to recover.\u201d <\/p>\n\n This area should be a top priority for ocean protection <\/strong>under the new Global Ocean Treaty, because it\u2019s threatened by illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. <\/strong>To help make our case for its protection, we monitored and interacted with nine fishing vessels from a safe distance, and documented their longline hauls. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n Longlines are 100km long fishing lines attached to floats which are dragged behind fishing vessels. These longlines lead to significant \u201cbycatch\u201d \u2014 ensnaring turtles, seabirds, and sharks in their wake.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n Over 25 hours, we recorded 84 sharks being hauled from the ocean<\/strong> from these longlines \u2014 that\u2019s a rate of three sharks per hour. The sharks were either dead or killed thereafter, with no regard for their age or endangered status. <\/strong>As my colleague Vela Andapita described it, these catches were \u201cmore shark than tuna.\u201d<\/p>\n\n One haul we recorded saw countless (well, we counted them: over 935) empty hooks, one young tuna fish, and 16 sharks. These numbers reflect the emptying of our oceans from overfishing, despite what big business may claim about healthy tuna stocks in the Pacific.<\/p>\n\n But harmful fishing practices don\u2019t just take place in the water. <\/strong>Fishers aboard these vessels are often stranded at sea for months or even years at a time, working in difficult, sometimes severe, conditions \u2014 and cut off from their friends and family at home on land.<\/p>\n\n Over the last few years, we\u2019ve collaborated with the Indonesian Migrant Workers Union (SBMI) \u2014 which frequently receives complaints from Indonesian migrant fishers \u2014 to investigate the forced labour and illegal fishing practices on distant-water fishing vessels.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n So, with permission from the ship\u2019s captains, we approached the Taiwanese longliners from our inflatable dinghies and offered the fishers packages of coffee, soap, Indonesian noodles<\/strong>, and more. We also shared our Wi-Fi from the <\/strong>Rainbow Warrio<\/em><\/strong>r, so they could contact their loved ones at home. <\/strong>Once the Wi-Fi was up, almost all the fishers grabbed their phones to call home for the first time since they left land two to three months prior.<\/p>\n\n \u00a9 Myrthe Verweij \/ Greenpeace. Crew onboard the <\/em>Rainbow Warrior in the North Pacific Ocean, display a net banner reading <\/em>“FREE WIFI”. The wifi will be offered to fishers onboard longline fishing vessels.<\/em><\/p>\n\n Along with urging governments to ratify the Global Ocean Treaty by 2025<\/strong>, and specifically protect these seamounts, we\u2019ll continue to advocate for the rights of fishers at sea<\/strong>. Because these destructive practices do not just exploit marine ecosystems, they harm people as well. <\/p>\n\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com\/docsz\/AD_4nXdMwRKhfCB_cOFp-itl5VMSKJxHiUx9t6gFBEc7fEeSQGUAT_YaegGKlSQ5fCpVdarFVgodYzdZBfaHop54CD_nrd9ofVO4uPJW682uFd1NYioziLUCCmQev5vXEzVjSTNFHmtK6A1KLQuwkta7o0SWtY91?key=DwG9-2HpL7x26O9zayKSnw\")