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May 13, 2008Chasing rainbows and longliners
A bigeye tuna on a Taiwanese longliner in Pacific international waters
Over the past three days we have discovered and taken action against overfishing by six Taiwanese longliners in the Pacific Commons. One of these was the Ho Tsai Fa 18 that we met eleven days ago and released marine life from her hooks. Having previously agreed with the captain that they would leave these international waters we were very disappointed to find them again but we managed to prevent this boat from fishing for three days.
Another vessel we boarded (the Yu Jaan Shang) had nine tonnes of tuna, sharks (including sacks of fins and tails) and marlin. We came across one longliner that was actually fishing (the Chin Yu Chun) so we hauled in what line they had in the water and confiscated 2 of their radio beacons (they need these to find the ends of their lines). Last night we escorted this vessel out of the international waters, where we returned the beacons. We asked all of the longliners to leave the Pacific Commons and they agreed. We are also writing an official letter to the Taiwanese Government asking them to withdraw their entire fishing fleet from the Pacific Commons so that tuna stocks here will be able to recover in this ecologically important area.
Two of our activists who were involved directly with these vessels have been lovely enough to write about some of their experiences.
By Rose - our Chinese translator from New Zealand:
We talked to three boats on Saturday, and surprisingly all of them were from Taiwan. They were not from the same company, and each experience was totally different.
Fish laundering in the Pacific
Today we caught an illegal tuna purse seiner (Queen Evelyn 168) in the Pacific Commons between Papua New Guinea and the Federated States of Micronesia. This Philippines-flagged vessel was close to the transfer of tuna between her sister vessel and a refrigerated mothership. It is likely that a transfer of fish at sea involving an illegal vessel was about to occur, but upon our arrival the vessels immediately separated and fled.
Transfers of fish at sea are known to facilitate pirate fishing around the world and now we have seen it with our own eyes in the Pacific. For years tuna have disappeared unreported on motherships like this.
One of our volunteer activists from Fiji boarded the mothership and has written about her experience.
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My name is Ana and I am a Fijian volunteer. I am the assistant cook on board the Esperanza . Today, I was an activist for the second time since I have been on the ship. Early this morning at about 5.30am I was woken up by a phone call from the bridge, telling me that they had spotted a fishing boat and that I must get ready because the boat was launching at 6.00am. Little did I know that the real action would not start until about 11.00am, so back to the galley I went to help prepare lunch. That's just the way it goes sometimes. The helicopter came back and we began to chase a reefer (a vessel that takes the tuna catch away from fishing vessels so they can keep catching more fish without coming to port) out here in international waters.
NAFO wakes up to deep sea destruction
Last time I was on the Esperanza we were on the Grand Banks off the coast of Nova Scotia, exposing the destruction of bottom trawling in 2005. We were asking the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) to wake up and start protecting deep sea life.
Well guess what! Yesterday they reached a groundbreaking agreement in Montreal and adopted a blueprint for action to protect the high seas from bottom trawling. NAFO members include Canada, the European Union, Norway, Iceland, Russia and the US.
The agreement reached will implement a United Nations General Assembly resolution adopted in 2006, which called for urgent action to protect deep-sea corals and other vulnerable ecosystems from the impacts of bottom fishing in international waters. NAFO has now agreed that all high seas bottom fishing will be subject to impact assessments by the end of 2008, and that fishing areas should be closed or fisheries prohibited where damage to corals, sponges and other deep sea species cannot be prevented.
Short video briefing from the Esperanza
Langi, on board our ship the Esperanza, with an update on destructive fishing in his part of the world, and what we're doing about it.
Pacific Activist
Written by Daniel Loo on board the Esperanza
I was born in Fiji and have lived there all my life although my family emigrated to Fiji in the early 50s from Kiribati. I have a really interesting heritage as my Dad is Chinese while my mother is Gilberteese (Kiribati) with ancestors from Tuvalu, Ireland and Germany.
When first approached to write something about my experience onboard Esperanza the first thing that came to my mind was whether I had to write something from an activist point of view or as a deckhand. Well to start off, this is my first time to work on a ship and these three weeks have been some of the best in my entire life. Its been truly amazing!!!
Being out at sea as a volunteer has been an exciting experience, and I take my hat off to the dedicated hardworking crew who give one hundred percent effort including their lives for a cause they believe in. By doing this we are able to raise global awareness about the decline of our precious marine resources currently overfished today by hungry money making tuna fishing companies.
Saving sea life from the Pacific to the Mediteranian
[Photo copyright Jiri Rezac / Greenpeace]
This morning, the crew of the Arctic Sunrise found an illegal drift net in the Mediterranean. Our crew went into action, seizing the net and releasing the sea life trapped in it. Now our ship's followed the fishing boat back to Sicily, where it's being met by the coast guard. (Full story with video.)
Lisa's posted here a few days ago about the Esperanza crew's direct action to stop a dodgy long liner in the Pacific commons.
This is the kind of thing I love to see Greenpeace doing. These aren't the first Greenpeace ship tours to either region. We've been there before, talked to the governments, talked to the industry, talked to the scientists. At some point you've got to stop talking and do something.
Great work by both of our crews.
Update (8 May): "Turtle's demise greatly exaggerated" The Arctic Sunrise also saved a turtle from the driftnet. I didn't mention it in my first post because I'd seen the video here and thought it was dead. This morning I got news that the crew was able to revive and release the turtle. Hopefully it will recover from its ordeal.
TunaTV - Episode 1
An ex-fisherman from the Solomon Islands speaks out on overfishing in the Pacific.
I shot this video using a little digital hand held camera and edited it on my laptop - so sorry about the background noises of the ship and the wind
Taking tuna and turtles offline
We've just confiscated several kilometres of tuna fishing gear, freed marine life and sent a Taiwanese longlining vessel out of Pacific international waters and all before lunch! The 5am wake up call today came way too early for some but the dark, surly morning quickly turned into a dramatic action-packed wildlife rescue operation. Last night we spotted a longliner in one of the areas of international waters just north east of Papua New Guinea.
We researched the vessel and discovered that it was previously involved in shark finning in Costa Rica. We stayed with it until first light this morning when we launched inflatable boats. I helped to navigate the Esperanza alongside the fishing lines and later went out in a boat as safety crew in case anyone ended up needing help - but I wasn't out on the water for long and didn't get to see most of the action so I have bribed Sari, one of the campaigners on board, with chocolate to write an update for you.
The following is from Sari
We first tried to radio the vessel from the ship but got no response so our Chinese translator went over to speak to the vessel. We handed over the letter which explained our campaign and the captain nodded whilst reading it. We asked him to stop fishing and leave the area and he agreed but wanted to haul in his line first. We told him he had to free all marine life on his line and then we branded the hull of the ship with "PIRATE?" in red paint because it is impossible for any authority to know if this vessel is fishing legally as it is very difficult to regulate fishing in international waters.
Sayonara to Solomons
Here's a blog from Dean, our Kiwi communications officer on board the Esperanza
OK, so I admit it, I didn’t want to leave Honiara. Land itself had been such a welcome relief for me – but the big smiles, the new food, the busy markets, the curious people, the artistic talent - particularly obvious in weaving and carving), the smells – both intriguing and horrible, the multiple languages and tribal groups, the history and the sense of humour of local people had an unexpected intoxicating effect. I loved Honiara. And also it was quite a shock to be in a town that was incredibly poor with bad sanitation and air pollution (especially for 50,000 people) and to know that the ocean wealth and potential wealth of the country was disappearing. In fact, you could watch it happening from town, the wharf and along the foreshore. From there was my strongest first and last impressions of Honiara: the massive cargo motherships, with a smaller purse seiners each side with cranes lifting the tuna catch into the expansive hold of the motherships.
At night they looked like brightly-lit floating casinos. Then of course, the motherships leave, destined for the fish markets of Tokyo or another huge city. And in return, Pacific Island nations get 4-5% of the US$3 billion generated from catch in the region. There is obvious unemployment and they must to pay for their children to go to school from the time they are 8 years old. HIV/AIDs transmission has exploded as a result of increased contact with foreign fishermen and prostitution.
Defending the Pacific - Part 2
The Esperanza has just left Honiara in the Solomon Islands where I joined the ship so that we can keep you up to date on all of our adventures in the Pacific. I have replaced Jess, the webby from the Greenpeace USA office, who has reluctantly returned to her desk in Washington DC. If you've missed whatś been going on in the Pacific over the past few weeks you can check out her blog here.
The ship spent 6 days in the Solomon Islands and I arrived on Saturday morning just 2 days before we left and yet it feels like I´ve already been here for a long time. Memories from being on board before came flooding back as if it was just yesterday but it's nearly 3 years since I left the ship in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
I have not sailed with most of the crew on board before and it's always a great pleasure to make new friends and hear new stories (speaking of stories, the photographer keeps trying to have me believe he has a chicken in his cabin!). There are people on the ship from every corner of the world and many from this particular region. But it's funny that I often I hear claims that only western folks sail around on Greenpeace ships telling other countries what to do with their environment.
Tuna trading CLOSED!
“Ladies and Gentlemen your attention please: the Dong Won, Mitsubishi, Moon Marine, Azzopardi and Ricardo Fuentes stalls are now closed.” And they were. It felt great knowing that the ever so slightly familiar voices coming airport style over the audio soundsystem were speaking the truth. We did it. Shut down the stalls of 5 companies – including the world’s biggest tuna supplier (Mitsubishi) - driving the global tuna crisis.
So it was business closed for these tuna suppliers. Not just that but the ensuing chaos – including overwhelmed police blocking the way meant entire halls stopped trading for much of the day.
Esperanza arrives in the Solomons
Last night, as the sun was setting, I got my first glimpse of land in 3 weeks. When I woke up, I could see that we were passing islands. The Esperanza pulled into Honiara, Solomon Islands this morning. The ship and crew were greeted with a traditional welcome, which if I hadn't gotten a head's up earlier probably would have scared me, a little. In the challenge part of the welcome, island warriors wave long spears around and scream at you.
The entire crew were led by the captain off the ship and the warriors continued screaming and waving the spears. The proper response to this challenge is to hold still and stare straight ahead without a reaction. After a few minutes of challenge, the warriors all walked to one side and the captain walked forward. We had passed the test. There was some press there and a group of men playing pan flute drums to greet us.
U.S. purse seiner confronted in the South Pacific
At 8:30 this morning, I stood on the deck of the Esperanza staring out at a ship in the distance. We had spotted a fishing vessel in international waters and had sent a team to see if they were actually fishing. As the information came in, we learned that it was a purse seiner from the U.S. and it just started to pull in the net. Purse seine vessels surround schools of fish with curtain-like nets to catch tuna. A rope along the bottom of the net is pulled like a drawstring and the whole catch is hauled onboard. A purse seine net can be over one hundred meters long and catch up to 3000 tons of fish in one trip.
Greek fishermen hungry for a cause
Some exciting news from the Mediterranean... On Monday, after a day of demonstrations by Greek fishermen, against a government decision to allow trawling in near-shore waters, 19 fishermen started a hunger strike outside the ministry building in favour of sustainable fisheries and marine reserves!
As a result of the demonstration, the Greek Fisheries Minister had to cut short his attendance at yesterday's EU Council meeting and fly back to Greece. He arrived at his Ministry at 1 in the morning, accompanied by the Deputy Minister of Fisheries and a national TV crew. The negotiations lasted until 4am, when he admitted that he was unwilling to revoke the decision on trawling but announced a reassessment of fisheries management as part of the development of a new strategy.
He offered to come out with a public statement and letter to the European Commission explaining that his earlier decision to allow trawlers in near shore waters is in fact only temporary and that he is inviting the fishermen to a meeting to decide on a new National Fisheries Strategy!
The coastal fishermen stopped the hunger strike and are hoping for a better deal in the meeting after Greek Easter (next 15 days). They are considering this a victory.
Pacific Marine Reserves
Well let me tell you, August in the district ain't got nothin' on an afternoon on deck in the South Pacific. It is hot as anything here. We've been sailing for 4 days now and we've spent most of it preparing for our tour through the South Pacific. The days are long, sometimes starting as early as 5 am for some and often going past our last meeting of the day at 7:30 p.m.
A few times a day, I catch myself staring out into the South Pacific in amazement. At night, the stars here are unbelievable, seriously it feels like you are inside of a planetarium. When my neck starts to hurt from looking up, I look down and stare at the water that is pushed out of the stern propeller of the ship. It sparkles almost as bright as the sky, the plankton shines bright with phosphorescence and every few seconds a bright globe of a jellyfish passes thorough and shines for about 10 seconds as it moves away from the ship. The sunrises and sunsets are remarkable and the water is a color between sapphires and aquamarine. We've seen dolphins, flying fish, tuna jumping, birds and my personal favorite; a little baby black tip reef shark.
Pacific Ocean may be nearing a tipping point
In a related story....
Peering into the murky depths, Jane Lubchenco searched for sea life, but all she saw were signs of death.Video images scanned from the seafloor revealed a boneyard of crab skeletons, dead fish and other marine life smothered under a white mat of bacteria. At times, the camera's unblinking eye revealed nothing at all -- a barren undersea desert in waters renowned for their bounty of Dungeness crabs and fat rockfish.
"We couldn't believe our eyes," Lubchenco said, recalling her initial impression of the carnage brought about by oxygen-starved waters. "It was so overwhelming and depressing. It appeared that everything that couldn't swim or scuttle away had died."
Upon further study, Lubchenco and other marine ecologists at Oregon State University concluded that that the undersea plague appears to be a symptom of global warming.
That's from today's LA times. Also a good story on it in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
Ocean impacts mapped
Maps of the world usually have lots of lovely blue to show where the oceans are. This map, showing damage to our oceans, is all yellow, oranges and reds with only small bits of pristine blue. It's hardly the first warning from scientists about the state of the oceans, but it's the most thorough and graphical. From the Baltimore Sun:
In one of the most comprehensive looks yet at the oceans, researchers say that humans have "strongly" fouled 41 percent of the high seas with everything from storm water runoff to shipping waste and that only small polar regions are still untouched."Almost half of the oceans are in a fairly degraded state, based on what we found," said Benjamin Halpern, the report's lead author and a marine biologist at the California-based National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis. "There isn't a spot on the planet that hasn't been touched by humans."
The report was published today in Science Magazine (subscription). There's a Google Earth layer for the map (and an animated flyover) here, and another animated flyover on NPR's website. See Science Daily for more info.
And as Benjamin Halpern, the report's lead author, says, "There are things people can do". Ask questions about where the fish you eat comes from, avoid fertilizers and pesticides (buy organic), cut down on your carbon footprint and sign our marine reserves petition.
Greenpeace ship struck by flying whale
We have just been informed that our ship the Rainbow Warrior II has been seriously damaged by a whale that reportedly fell from the sky. A police spokesperson said that they have reason to believe the Hollywood actor Will Smith was involved in the incident. However, he could not be questioned at the scene due to severe intoxication. All of the ship's crew have survived unharmed but sadly, Walter the grey whale was pronounced dead on arrival.
The following video has been sent to us by a member of the public who was at the scene.
Sea cows win legal battle against US Department of Defense
Some great news from Okinawa in Japan!
A final ruling has been issued requiring the US Department of Defense to consider impacts of a new airbase on the endangered Okinawa dugong in order to avoid or mitigate any harm.
Local communities and conservationists are concerned that a 1.5-mile-long
runway, proposed to be built over seagrass beds, would destroy the remaining
habitat of the endangered Okinawa dugong, a cultural icon of the Okinawan
people.
The U.S. airbase expansion at Henoko Bay would involve destroying large areas of seagrass -- home and feeding grounds for the 12 remaining dugongs in Japan. Hopefully, the court-ordered review and public airing of the impacts of the project will cause the US and Japanese governments to halt the base expansion plans and avoid driving the Okinawa dugong further toward extinction.
-- Read the full press release from the Center for Biological Diversity
A vision and a challenge
Image © Lisa Vickers
A Vision and a Challenge
2007 was not a great year for our oceans. Overfishing, marine pollution and climate change now jostle with one another in the struggle to see which can do more harm to marine life more quickly. Combine the three, add in a healthy dose of self-interest inspired by short-term profits and supported by major fishing nations, and things do not look good for the myriad of life that inhabits our oceans in 2008.
At Greenpeace, we have a different vision for our oceans: a vision of clean and healthy oceans abundant with life. Some people call us radical. Since our oceans cover three-quarters of our planet and play host to some 80% of all life on earth, we don't think there is a choice about what has to be done to defend our oceans, and we are prepared to do it. What if 2008 were different?
How about this vision for change in 2008:
Drowning Islands & Stolen Fish - is this THE END?
After a week of negotiations at the WCPFC with over 360 people from many corners of the planet you would think that we would be able to come to at least SOME agreements on how we're going to save the Pacific yellow fin and big eye tuna stocks right? Perhaps it was just me being naive but I was really expecting SOMETHING to happen. After endless days inside a huge room without windows and lots of serious people in suits, the two most valuable tuna species in the Pacific are no closer to recovery than they were before. The reduction in fishing effort that the scientists were recommending was totally ignored by Japan, China, Taiwan and Korea with Japan leading the pack and earning themselves not one but two "tuna destroyer" Greenpeace awards.
Yet again shortsighted economics continue to rule the day putting the environment, fish stocks, Pacific Island economies and the fishing industry itself at risk. This fisheries commission is now failing miserably just like all the others and as you can tell, I'm pretty frustrated about it! I came here with high hopes and of seeing measures get adopted that would ensure the sustainability of the last tuna frontier in the world. Tuna is very important to Pacific island economies and the last thing they need in addition to dealing with the effects of climate change is to have their fish stocks crash!
I have actually been dreading writing this update because it felt like all I had was bad news but there is a light shining at the end of this tunnel because the Greenpeace oceans team, as usual has a few tricks left up their sleeve :-)
The good, the bad and the fishy
Early Monday morning I arrived at the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission meeting not as a human but as "SheSeeMe" the bigeye tuna. I passed out leaflets that laid out clear solutions to the increasing problem of overfishing in the Pacific and made it clear to the Commission that the world was watching. Within a matter of minutes nearly every one of the 360 or so delegates was holding one of these little pieces of wisdom. Even the Governor of Guam took one and patted me on the fin, thanking me. Being a fish out of water actually turned out to be fun and with my task complete I transformed back into human form and returned to the meeting to observe the proceedings along with the rest of the Greenpeace delegation.
The opening kicked off with a warm welcome from the Governor of Guam who noted the importance of fisheries to Guam and and to Pacific identities. He also reminded everyone in the room that "the world was watching". The Chairman of the Commission then gave a speech where he challenged the countries represented here to take the action and responsibility required to protect and maintain the tuna stocks. His compelling words left a lump in my throat as we moved into the official proceedings. I glanced around the room and felt overwhelmed by the sheer number of people here from across the world. There are Pacific nations and also nations that have or want to have fishing fleets here.
Video: Overfishing threatens Pacific tuna
Just found this excellent little news piece by Al Jazeera on Pacific tuna specifically shot in Guam this summer. Check it out!
The Big Eye is on Guam
Not too long ago I remember reading that fish stocks in the Pacific were relatively healthy and that it was the only region in the world where tuna was not being overfished. But a lot has changed in just a few years and scientists are now saying that Pacific tuna stocks are severely threatened from overfishing and that the situation is critical. The Pacific countries are now faced with a very difficult challenge and the fate of many economies is at stake.
I am in Guam right now at the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) meeting where more than 20 nations will be negotiating agreements on the region's fisheries, which mainly consist of 4 tuna species (yellow fin, big-eye, skip jack and albacore). The greatest concern is over the decline in yellow fin and big eye stocks which are the tunas that are sold to the sushi and sashimi markets.
Planet Ocean - the book
Got some good news. I heard from Toby, our publications guy, that the first print run of our Planet Ocean book has sold out. The book grew out of the Defending Our Oceans expedition, and tells the story of the oceans through amazing photos. Great that it's been a hit.
Better news - there will be a second printing. I've already bought my copy (of course), but if you haven't there is a second chance. To get the book that is. When it comes to saving the oceans, we only get one go.
Accidents will happen
Last weekend there were two oil spills. One took place in the Black Sea, where a Russian tanker split in two, releasing 2000 tonnes of oil. The other took place in the San Francisco Bay, where 58 000 gallons of oil were spilled after a cargo ship collided with a bridge.
Neither of these accidents should have happened. It has been reported that the oil tanker was a soviet era vessel designed for use on rivers which found itself facing eight meter high waves in the Black Sea. In San Franciso the LA times report that
"There were skilled enough individuals on board this ship," said Rear Adm. Craig Bone, the Coast Guard's top official in California. "They didn't carry out their missions correctly."
and there's the thing. In the first case safety rules either didn't exist or were ignored, in the second case it seems that something just went wrong.
This kind of thing happens all the time. In developed western nations we're used to most things working almost all the time, but no-one is really too surprised by events like this. In the developing world it's the other way round. For some reason though the notion that accidents will, and do happen often evades policy makers. They don't consider it when thinking about how to manage nuclear power stations, they don't consider it when looking at whether Genetically Modified Organisms can be released into the wild and they don't consider it when deciding whether or not it's a good idea to transport massive quantities of oil through pristine wilderness.
The moral of the story? If you do enough risky things sooner or later you'll get caught out. However good your processes and practices are.
Follow the Great Whale Trail!
Today we launched the Great Whale Trail, following the migration of humpback whales from the warm tropical waters of the South Pacific, where they breed, to the icy Southern Ocean around Antarctica, where they feed. And we're doing it via satellite tracking and Google Maps. Nifty.
It's a collaboration between Greenpeace and scientists studying humpback whales in the South Pacific. We provided the financial support, while the humpbacks have been tagged by the Cook Islands Whale Research, and Opération Cétacés (New Caledonia). Why are we doing this? Well, it's simple, really: whales must not be allowed to die in the thousands for needless, discredited "research," - like that carried out by the Japanese whaling fleet. We're satellite tracking whales in the Southern Ocean to prove that non-lethal means can be used to do some real research!
Every year, more than 300,000 whales and dolphins die from just getting caught in fishing nets. The one place you might think that whales would be safe is in a whale sanctuary like the Southern Ocean. Alas, not so. Once in Antarctic waters they face the one threat that ended most easily - whaling, under the guise of "research" - whaling that is in reality a commercial operation.
Track the whales, on Google Maps »
30,313 people say "Save the Dugong"!
Thanks to all 30,313 of you, from 155 countries who took part in recent our "Save the Dugong" capaign. Last week, the Japanese Defense Ministry in Naha, Okinawa, received 30,313 letters from you, delivered by Greenpeace Japan and the crew of the Esperanza (some of whom dressed up as dugong!).
They also took part in a sit-in by local activists which has been taking place for more than three years now, and the messaeges were also delivered to the Ministry of Environment in Tokyo.
The above video shows the sit-in and delivery - even if you don't speak Japanese, you can still understand what's going on!
The Esperanza also sailed to Henoko, the area threatened by the airbase expansion, and where the dugongs live. About 30 fishing boats and kayaks welcomed the crew. While the Esperanza was at Henoko, one construction worker told local people that "while Greenpeace is in Henoko, we will not do any construction" - proving that sometimes, just showing up can have the desire effect.
Jun Hoshikawa, the ever-eloquent executive director of Greenpeace Japan, said that "the best Samurai can win the battle without using his sword. This is what the Esperanza did here in Okinawa".
Catch of the day
From PR Watch
Yellowfin and Bigeye tuna are in big, big trouble. The solution is a global network of Marine Reserves: 40% of the oceans as no-take zones, so these creatures can recover.
Yesterday, our own Karen Sack made the case at the UN in a presentation which was webcast live from a meeting of the G77. The video is here. Marine bioligist Callum Roberts, author of "The Unnatural History of the Sea" does a presentation in there at about the 40 minute mark. Callum presented at our recent Oceans meeting and blew the room away: his story of an ocean once teeming with life, the devastation of industrial fishing, and how no-take marine reserves are already restoring some areas was a tour de force of hope. "The fishing industry doesn't realise that Greenpeace is its best friend" was one of my favourite lines.
We've recently set up a call upon the UN, regional fisheries bodies, and national governments to let the seas recover by setting aside 40% as fully protected, no-take zones: Sign it here! There's a Facebook cause as well: push it out there!
Deadliest Catch: The game
It's rough in the Bering Sea - storms, ice, fishermen... Get a taste for a fishes life with Greenpeace USA's new game, The Deadliest Catch.
Game wise it's pretty old school. (Reminds me fondly of those Atari 2600 times.) The sea lions are pesky, but the nets are the real nightmare. Almost inescapable, just like real life. When you're done playing, don't forget to sign the petition asking the North Pacific Fisheries Council to take better care of the pollock.
Pollock don't have the charisma of dolphins, but they're vital to the Bering Sea ecosystem. Marine mammals, predatory fish and seabirds are already starving to death because pollock stocks have dropped so low. More than half of the US fish catch also comes from Alaska - meaning, a healthy pollock stock is needed for long term economic (as well as ecological) sustainability.
Video: Save the dugong of Okinawa now!
[I'm posting this, but Eoin wrote most of it. I'm just the messenger! - Dave]
Important developments have unfolded in Japan since we wrote earlier this month about the threatened dugongs and plans to expand a U.S. military base on Okinawa's coast. The large marine mammals and their habitat on the north-east coast of Okinawa Island can be saved, but our window of opportunity to act is closing fast.
Shinzo Abe's recent resignation as Prime Minister of Japan, and the discovery of precious colony of blue corals in the airbase construction site have improved our odds of success.
The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the proposed airbase site is open for public comment throughout September. After that time, the authorities will tell us "you've had your chance".
Can you send a message to the Japanese government right now, or forward this message to your friends by email and on facebook, myspace and hi5 to join our call to save the dugongs and stop the airbase. (There's heaps of background information you can blog about too!)
Stop the airbase - save the dugongs of Okinawa
© Roberto Sozzani
So what does a dugong do? Not much, except wander coastal areas from the east coast of Africa to Australia, and beyond, grazing on the seagrass of coral reefs.
Dugongs living on the coast of Japan's Okinawa island are threatened by the proposed expansion of a U.S. military base there. Construction of the airbase would destroy local coral reefs, the habitat of the dugong, and thousands of other creatures, including three species of threatened turtle.
Time is short, but we can still stop the airbase - throughout September, the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the airbase site is open for public comment. We're using this opportunity to let the Japanese government know what the people of the world think - by delivering a petition of thousands of names to the environment and defence ministries, and calling on the government to establish a marine reserve in the area.
This wouldn't be the first time that construction at Henoko, in north-eastern Okinawa, has been stopped. In 2005, after a sustained protest by local people, and following the arrival of the Rainbow Warrior, plans for an airbase was shelved. If the military machine can be stopped once - through the voice of thousands worldwide, and through peaceful protest in Okinawa, then it can be stopped again.
You know what to do:
Call on the Japanese government to save the dugong and stop the expansion of the military base in Okinawa »
Earlier:
01 March 2005: Save the dugong - stop the US airbase »
10 March 2005: Greenpeace joins local activists to occupy test drilling platforms in an area where a proposed American military base would be built across important dugong habitat. »
12 March 2005: Greenpeace calls for dugong rescue in Japan »
National Geographic: Rare Japanese Dugong Threatened by U.S. Military Base »
The Great Fish Rip-Off
Global activism group Avaaz is looking for help in pushing the World Trade Organisation to stop the plunder of our oceans. As a recent mailing puts it:
Often, the issues that affect the most lives don't make the headlines. This month, we have an opportunity to do something big about one of them: the global fishing crisis.Fishers in developing countries are catching fewer and fewer fish--because of massive overfishing by industrialized fishing fleets from rich countries, fleets subsidized with tens of billions of Euros every year. As a result, fish populations are now collapsing around the globe, and could soon be pushed beyond recovery.
But our oceans don't have to die. This September, the World Trade Organization will release a new proposal for global fishing rules--and right now, trade ministers are deciding what those rules should be. If enough of us urge our trade ministers to support a better system, we preserve our oceans for future generations--and for the one billion humans who rely on fish for protein today. Click here to send your trade minister a message in support fairness and sustainability:
Ultimately, we believe the answer to the problems of pirate fishing and overfishing would be a global system of rigorously enforced Marine Reserves -- areas that would be protected from destructive human activity until they can recover. You can read more about the problems of overfishing and pirate fishing, as well as the Marine Reserves solution, at our main website. But take action with Avaaz first.
Stop the slaughter of sharks in Ecuador
If you've ever eaten the Chinese delicacy, shark fin soup, you've had a taste of ocean destruction.
Sharks are greatly valued for their fins which are sold for high prices in Asia. Shark fin soup is served at Chinese weddings and banquets to symbolise wealth and prestige.
The market demand for this one part of the shark has given rise to shark 'finning,' a practice in which the fins are cut off a captured shark and the rest of the animal is then dumped, often alive, back into the sea. Sharks (unlike most other fish) have only a few young at a time and so take a long time to recover from exploitation.
Of tuna and turtles
The Rainbow Warrior is currently on a three-month expedition in the Mediterranean, calling for the creation of marine reserves in the region, as part of a global network of protected areas covering 40% of our seas and oceans.
Sebastian Losada filed this report:
The bluefin tuna season doesn't seem to have started yet in the waters that extend off the Libyan coasts. Some catches have already taken place, yes, but just a few compared to the levels we will possibly witness in the coming weeks. Two-hundred purse seiners will try to take as much tuna as they can from the Libyan fishing ground before the fishery is closed on July the 1st. That's why they come to these waters: the last refuge in which an important subpopulation of bluefin tuna still survives.
Save the Dugong!
Karli, our oceans campaigner just back from leading our Southern Ocean Whale Expedition, writes:
Two years ago, the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior visited Henoko in Okinawa, Japan. The purpose of our visit was to support a local protest against the construction of a new airbase for the US military. The proposed airbase was to be constructed over a coral reef, the home of the last remaining dugong population in Japan.
This is the 21st century. It is mind-boggling that anyone still considers that it is OK to destroy a coral reef with the construction of anything, and to add insult, the proposed construction is an airbase for the military – in a community that is deeply concerned with peace. The habitat of Japan’s dugongs, as well as abundant reef and seagrass species, should be the site of a marine reserve – not a reserve for marines.
With the Rainbow Warrior, we helped to raise the issue to a new level with international media attention helping the cause of local protesters, who had occupied the drilling platforms day in, day out for over a year already. Shortly after, the original proposal was scrapped. But a new proposal, still impacting the marine area that the dugongs depend on, replaced it.
Now, the protest against the airbase construction has reached a crucial point. The Naha Defense Facilities Administration Agency is about to begin an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the proposed airbase. We are demanding that this EIA is a sound and transparent assessment, and involves the local community.
The local protest groups are taking this opportunity to gather international support to stop the airbase and save the dugong. They have set up an online petition, giving you a chance to have your say on this issue.
© Roberto Sozzani
Please read and sign the petition, and help spread the word.Thanks in advance!
Tell your government that you vote NO to commercial whaling!
Posted by Dave (in Ireland)
The future of the whales will be decided in Anchorage, Alaska, in a couple of weeks time.
As a committed Whale Defender, we need you to make your voice heard once again. The key governments in the debate need to hear from you that you demand that the International Whaling Commission works to protect whales.
"The 59th International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting has begun its preliminary meeting in Anchorage ahead of the key decision making week from May 28th - 31st. Your delegation will be representing not only your government, but your electorate. We ask that you ensure that your delegation is briefed to vote for whale protection at this important meeting."Tell your government that you vote NO to commercial whaling »
Defending Whales
As you'll have noticed:
- The Defending or Oceans trip has come to an end, and so has the blog
- Since the end of the expedition in Sydney, the Esperanza sailed all the way to Sydney.
Well, in case you don't know, Andrew got a new blog rolling - Defending whales, where you can keep up with the Esperanza's activities in Tokyo, as well as the wider whaling campaign. Of course, Andrew has also shunted the responsibility on to me, so I'm gonna be Mr. Whale for the next few months. But now is not the time for blubbering - there's work to be done!
The Esperanza was initially stopped from entering Tokyo, but has since arrived into Yokohama, in Tokyo Bay.
Defending whales Blog
Defending whales main site
Amazon.com stops selling Shark Fin Soup
Shark fins drying on the upper deck of longline pirate vessel in the South Atlantic.
Earlier this year an issue was raised over on our Ocean Defenders Blog concerning the sale of Shark Fin Soup on Amazon.com. Greenpeace has since contacted Amazon and requested that they remove all products containing shark fins from their website.
It is with great pleasure that we can now tell you that Amazon has taken all of these products off their website! This is a great response from Amazon and we'd like to commend them on taking such a bold step.
The shark finning industry kills up to 73 million sharks per year and continues to threaten the survival of these cartilagenous critters. Additionally It has recently become evident that the disappearance of sharks has detrimental effects to broader marine ecosystems. We hope that other companies will follow Amazon's lead and stop selling Shark Fin Soup.
NYT - Whaling: A Japanese obsession with American roots
That's the title of an article in today's New York Times. From the article:
Historically, fishermen in coastal towns, like Taiji in southwestern Japan, hunted whales in nearby waters. But things changed after the Commodore Perry’s so-called Black Ships forced an isolationist Japan to open up in the 1850s. Back then, the United States used whale oil lamps, and part of Perry’s mission to Japan was to secure the rights of American whalers in the Pacific.As whaling became knotted with Japan's traumatic opening to the world and its subsequent drive to modernize, the Japanese adopted American and Norwegian whaling vessels and techniques. Some coastal towns were transformed into whaling stations, including Ayukawa, when the Toyo Whaling Company started operating here in 1906.
The Blacklist of Illegal Fishing Vessels
A while ago I wrote about how I'd been learning all about IUU fishing. That's Illegal, unregulated and unreported fisheries. It's one of the biggest threats to the world's fish stocks, which is why it's better to refer to it by the less bureaucratic name of 'Pirate Fishing' or just 'Stealing Fish'.
Well now I can tell you why I was doing all this research. Greenpeace has just published a consolidated global blacklist of fishing vessels who have been sanctioned for breaking fisheries regulations.
Google News: Greenpeace to continue whaling
A little blog for my fellow nerds... Nick in New Zealand sent me this amusing link this morning. As the faithful Googlebot dutifully tried to gather up news about The Esperanza arriving in Sydney (yay!) and our intention to return to Tokyo, it accidentally truncated the headline to read "Greenpeace Ship Heads to Japan to Continue Whaling". It seems that perhaps robots can't entirely replace the human race after all... Asimov can rest in peace.
Fishing vessel blacklist/whitelist
For years, the fisheries regulators have met at international meetings and talked about clamping down on pirate fishing industry. One of the things everyone knows is needed is a global database of suspect fishing vessels - an industry blacklist. But somehow years went past and no one got around to setting it up.
So we went ahead and did it ourselves. It took about 10 weeks and cost about 5,000 euros to set the site up. We launched it today in Rome at a biannual UN Food and Agriculture Organisation's Fisheries Committee meeting. Apparently it caused quite a stir. : )
To go with the blacklist, we also set up a spoof site: fishing-vessel-whitelist.org, to point out that the world also needs a list of legitimate/legal fishing vessels. Our team at the meeting is passing out bookmarks with the blacklist address on one side and the whitelist on the other.
You can find the site at blacklist.greenpeace.org.
And read more here. Story behind the photo is here.
The work goes on
With the Nisshin Maru seemingly en route back to Japan whaling will probably be dropping out of the headlines in the next few weeks. Meanwhile though the campaign goes on, and as you can see here there's always a lot of interest in the annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission and campaigning is a 24/7/365 business.
For the ICR it's going to be a busy year. They've got a ship to repair and refit (although we'd rather they recycled it), nations to 'aid', a court case to fight and a pile of frozen whale meat to get rid of.
If I was them I'd be wondering if it was worth the effort...
World won't forgive whalers for disaster: NZ PM
According to AAP and various other news sources, New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark called on Japanese whalers to deal with their damaged vessel in Antarctic waters or face international outrage if it caused an environmental disaster (especially considering we are right there with an appropriate vessel to help!)
Clark says she is not prepared to offer the ship port facilities in New Zealand, saying no request has been made for the ship to stop here, and that she expects the ship to be towed all the way back to Japan. However maritime law expert Duncan Currie also told New Zealand press that international conventions meant it should be towed as soon as possible to the nearest port (which would be in New Zealand) to mitigate the pollution risk.
In general the media seems pretty supportive of our position, however, according to some sources, the Esperanza is in fact called the Ezmerelda, and is captained by one