Greenpeace Reduces Pacific Plunder of Taiwanese Longliners
Pacific Ocean, Tuesday May 13, 2008: Over the past three days activists on board Greenpeace ship Esperanza have stopped
one fishing vessel from operating and confiscated two fishing beacons from Taiwanese longliners in international waters
between Papua New Guinea and the Federated States of Micronesia.
Greenpeace took action against overfishing by a litany of Taiwanese longliners: The fleet of six vessels (1) included
the controversial Ho Tsai Fa 18 (2) that activists met eleven days ago and released sharks, tuna, marlin and an
endangered turtle from her hooks. The Ho Tsai Fa 18 was prevented from fishing for three days knowing that activists
would again release marine life from the hooks. Activists were also given permission to go on board two Taiwanese
longliners. The Yu Jaan Shyang had nine tonnes of tuna, sharks – including sacks of fins and tails - and marlin. Two
longline beacons were also confiscated from the Chin Yu Chun and last night the Esperanza peacefully escorted her out of
the international waters, where the beacon was returned. All boats agreed to leave the international waters that
Greenpeace is defending as marine reserves.
Greenpeace is concerned about the large amount of fishing taking place by the Taiwanese fleet. The organisation has sent
a letter to the Government of Taiwan urging it to immediately call in all fishing vessels from pockets of international
waters between Pacific island countries and support the need to protect these international waters as marine reserves.
Last year Taiwan, Japan, Korea and mainland China all blocked moves for sustainable fishing by Pacific island countries
in the region.
“We are disturbed to see the six Taiwanese longliners and the Ho Tsai Fa 18 again in this area. Taiwan clearly doesn’t
care about sustainable fishing and the future of the Pacific Ocean,” said Greenpeace Australia Pacific campaigner Lagi
Toribau on board the Esperanza. “Greenpeace has written to the Taiwanese Government and asked them to instruct their
fishing fleet to withdraw from the Pacific Commons and support genuine efforts for sustainable fishing including
creating marine reserves in these areas of international waters,” said Toribau.
All vessels are contributing to the decline of tuna and sharks. At any one moment there are 3600 long-liners in the
Pacific setting thousands of kilometres of lines with literally millions of hooks. This has had devastating impacts on
Pacific marine life including the target species of tuna as well as sharks and turtles. Scientists have been warning for
years that bigeye and yellowfin tuna are suffering from overfishing.
The Greenpeace ship, Esperanza, is in the Pacific for the sixth week to defend the pockets of international waters
between Pacific Island countries – the Pacific Commons - as marine reserves (3) from greedy fishing fleets.
The Pacific provides approximately 60 per cent of the world’s tuna and each year foreign fishing fleets rake in over
US$3 billion from the sale of Pacific tuna to markets in Asia, Europe and the USA. Pacific nations are being ripped off
only receiving 5-6 per cent of the value of the catch caught by foreign vessels in their national waters. This is
because of the unfair and unsustainable agreements negotiated by foreign companies and countries for access to fish for
tuna in their waters. Pacific island countries don’t receive any returns from the catch taken in the Pacific Commons.
"Retailers must act as gatekeepers, ensuring that fish sold on their shelves do not originate from operators like these
that are involved in destructive or illegal fishing. Greenpeace is asking supermarkets across the world to stop selling
unsustainable tuna products such as bluefin, bigeye and yellowfin which are now threatened in all oceans," said Sari
Tolvanen of Greenpeace International. “Consumers have a right to know the real crisis behind the tuna they eat. Far too
often it is either illegally or unsustainably ripped off from the waters of developing coastal states or from areas of
international water with little or no control.”
In the last month Greenpeace has taken action against overfishing by Korean, Taiwanese and US boats. Activists also
confiscated a fish aggregation device (FAD) that intensifies overfishing. On Friday activists disrupted an intended
transfer of catch between a tuna pirate and a mothership, both from the Philippines.
Greenpeace advocates the creation of a network of marine reserves, protecting 40 per cent of the world's oceans, as the
long term solution to overfishing and the recovery of our overexploited oceans.
Ends