Greenpeace intercepts pirate fishing vessel and demands its arrest
Barents Sea, 20 September 2005 Greenpeace today confronted another unregulated bottom trawler, the 'Kerguelen', and
prevented her from setting her nets in the international section of the Barents Sea, known as the 'Loophole'.
The trawler's captain admitted to Greenpeace that he was knowingly bottom trawling for deep sea fish with no legal quota
and therefore engaged in illegal, unregistered and unreported (IUU) fishing, also known as pirate fishing. Activists
from the Greenpeace ship 'Esperanza' used inflatable boats to interrupt the destructive fishing activities of the
'Kerguelen', and placed a banner on her hull branding her as a pirate vessel.
Pirate fishing is exacerbating the problem of overfishing, which is the greatest threat to the sustainablility of marine
biodiversity and global fisheries. Both issues need to be addressed urgently at the highest international level.
"The 'Kerguelen' is already blacklisted as a known pirate vessel by the European Commission. Our discovery of her
fishing illegally again today in the Barents Sea illustrates the total lack of control over fishing in international
waters. We will give this information to the Commission along with the demand that she be arrested if she enters a
European port to land her catch," said Brad Smith, Greenpeace Nordic campaigner onboard the 'Esperanza'.
The French-owned 86m long 'Kerguelen', currently flagged in Togo, is believed to have been fishing under several
different flags of convenience in recent months. Both the North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC) and the
European Commission have placed the Kerguelen on a list of vessels that have been confirmed as having engaged in IUU
fisheries. However, the authorities in the EU countries where illegally caught fish is landed have no legal obligation
to seize cargoes or arrest the vessels involved, even if information and evidence of illegal activities is provided to
them by policing states.
Greenpeace is calling for an immediate UN moratorium on high seas bottom trawling to stop the indiscriminate destruction
of deep-sea life. It is also calling on the international community to urgently develop legally binding, international
agreements that strengthen enforcement measures to stop IUU fishing. Key among these is the need for a common inspection
regime in ports receiving fish. This would enable local authorities to arrest and seize catches and vessels in cases of
documented illegalities. The true owners of such vessels must also be brought to account.
Greenpeace is an independent, campaigning organisation, which uses non-violent, creative confrontation to expose global
environmental problems, and to force the solutions, which are essential to a green and peaceful future.