Aotearoa – Greenpeace Aotearoa activists have confronted a bottom trawler off the East Coast of New Zealand, writing “ocean killer” on the side of the ship, after bearing witness to it hauling in a net straining with marine life.<\/p>\n\n
Launching from the Greenpeace vessel the Rainbow Warrior, activists came alongside the New Zealand-flagged vessel, Talley\u2019s Amaltal Atlantis, on the Chatham Rise[1], an area of ocean floor to the east of New Zealand, and painted the message on its side using non-toxic paint. The vessel is owned by seafood group Talley\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n
Speaking from onboard the Rainbow Warrior, Greenpeace Aotearoa oceans campaigner Juan Parada says:<\/p>\n\n
\u201cActivists rebranded this Talley\u2019s vessel today to expose the bottom trawling industry for what they are: ocean killers. When Talley\u2019s drag their heavy trawl nets across the seafloor and over seamounts, they bulldoze everything in their path, including killing precious coral.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cFaced with a fishing industry that profits from trashing the ocean, and a government that condones bottom trawling, ocean defenders have taken peaceful action today to call out this destruction and demand that bottom trawling stop.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cThe Amaltal Atlantis <\/em>trawls extensively in the waters of Aotearoa and has previously received permits to trawl in the High Seas of the South Pacific. Their trail of destruction is wide and long-lasting,\u201d says Parada.<\/p>\n\n Talley\u2019s has a long history of carrying out bottom trawling destruction. In 2018, the Amaltal Apollo trawled<\/a> in a protected area on the Lord Howe Rise, in the international waters of the Tasman Sea. The Amaltal Mariner was convicted of trawling<\/a> in a marine reserve off Kaik\u014dura in 2019. <\/p>\n\n The at-sea action comes just months after a deep sea expedition<\/a> led by Greenpeace Aotearoa documented whole swathes of destroyed coral in areas of the Tasman Sea that have been intensively trawled by New Zealand bottom trawlers. This area has been earmarked for one of the first high seas ocean sanctuaries, using the Global Ocean Treaty.<\/p>\n\n New Zealand is the only country still bottom trawling in the High Seas of Tasman. <\/p>\n\n Parada says, \u201cAs the rest of the world moves towards more comprehensive ocean protection for international waters, New Zealand is standing in the way of progress by continuing to advocate for the bottom trawling industry.\u201d <\/p>\n\n \u201cFrom depleted fish numbers to smashed coral, dead sharks and seabirds, the cost of bottom trawling is too high. To protect the ocean for the future and safeguard the ocean we all love, bottom trawling must stop.\u201d<\/p>\n\n In response to the activist\u2019s painting activity, Talley\u2019s responded saying they would seek legal action which \u201cmay include the arrest of the Rainbow Warrior.\u201d<\/p>\n\n ENDS<\/p>\n\n Photos and videos from the at-sea action are available in the Greenpeace Media Library<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n Notes:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n [1] The action took place in the Chatham Rise area, where it was recently revealed a New Zealand vessel dragged up six tonnes of coral in a single trawl<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n Contacts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n Nick Young, Greenpace Aoteaora, Head of Communications, +64-21-707727, nick.young@greenpeace.org<\/a><\/p>\n\n