Over the past two years the Rainbow Warrior has made two trips to the international waters of the Tasman Sea to gather evidence of impacts of bottom trawling on ancient coral habitats and to the unique array of deep sea creatures that live amongst it.
The evidence is conclusive the damage is shocking and irrefutable. And it backs up growing support
from all over the world for an urgent United Nations moratorium. A moratorium would give scientists a time-out to understand whats down there and what needs to be protected - before its all wiped out.
Were now bringing these images back to land from the high seas so that everyone can have a chance to see what is really going on and to do something about it.
The end of the road trip
November 7, 2005
Its hard to believe, but our trip has come to an end. Over the last 5 weeks we have travelled around a large part of the country and talked to thousands of people about the impacts of bottom trawling on deep sea life and about the need for United Nations moratorium or time-out on this kind of fishing n international waters. Continue
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Meghan goes back to school
November 7, 2005
On Wednesday I visited Room 6 from Porirua School to talk about some of the problems facing our Oceans. The class had been working on environmental issues, and after learning about local matters they have advanced to global environmental concerns. While many adults may struggle to get their head around issues such as climate change, toxics, GE, deforestation and pollution of oceans, then spare a thought for this brave class of 6-8 year olds! It was a truly fantastic experience to see the next generation so interested in the health of our environment. It is important to remember that these young people are the inheritors of the world, and just as we all contribute to what will be passed onto them, they will also be responsible to hand on the torch to the next generation. So I must applaud Porirua School and the wonderful teachers of Room Six, who have taken on such an enormous task; to educate and inspire the young people of our country and encourage them to think about the environmental responsibility that we all share for our planet. Continue
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New jobs new challenges
November 4, 2005
 Were back in Wellington, the 'seat of power', for the final stop of our trip. Theres been a lot going on since we past through here a couple of weeks ago. And probably the most significant has been the announcement of a new Cabinet and in particular, of new Ministers of Foreign Affairs and of Fisheries.
Welcome to your new jobs Winston and Jim! Continue
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Sunny Nelson
October 30, 2005
Sunny Nelson
Once again weve had a very welcoming and productive time in Nelson. Its interesting actually, occasionally people we talk to about our campaign have asked if we get nervous about coming to Nelson. After all, they say, it is a large fishing port and hometown to much of the bottom trawling fleet in NZ. Continue
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Your stories
October 30, 2005
 Here in Nelson, weve repeated our wish to talk with people involved in bottom trawling about their experiences at sea. From other places weve been to, and during previous visits to Nelson, we know that there are lots of fishers out there that are as concerned as we are about the impacts of bottom trawling, both on habitats of the deep sea, and on the ongoing sustainability of their work.
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Forests of the Deep Sea
October 30, 2005
Driving between Haast and Charleston takes some time. But time is different here its not measured in seconds and minutes, because the road winds through ancient forest. Rimu, kahikatea, miro protected in a world heritage area. Continue
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Happy Valley
October 27, 2005
Save Happy Valley t-shirt
One of the best things about travelling around the country on our Deep Sea Roadshow is meeting the wide variety of people that dedicate so much time and energy to conserve, protect or promote those things essential to a healthy environment and society. Continue
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Marine Reserves
October 22, 2005
Kapati Marine Reserve
You mention two words and occasionally you get a superbly hostile reaction. Those two words are: marine reserve.
I always think about marine reserves as being part of the solution to a crisis spinning out of control. Continue
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A word from Trev
October 21, 2005
Timaru, New Zealand
As we headed out of the Port town of Timaru, Trevor Hanson, now General Secretary of the Maritime Union of New Zealand, gave us these memories of when the deep sea bottom trawlers arrived in Timaru:
"The Ake Bono Maru arrived in Timaru in the early eighties, it was probably the largest bottom trawler working in New Zealand waters. The vessel had the capacity to carry 5,000 tonnes of processed fish and specifically fished for orange roughy on the Chatham Rise. Continue
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Postcards from the Edge
October 19, 2005
Most people who grew up in New Zealand have photos like this of me and my sister in the late 1970s.
In most cases its not possible to repeat the catches of 25 years ago because intensive commercial fishing has taken away so much sea life and kaimoana. Continue
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People Power!
October 19, 2005
Wow, Christchurch! What an incredible response we got during the first stop on the South Island leg of the trip. Continue
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Need more proof - how about the science?
October 18, 2005
Trawled and untrawled seamount on the Chatham Rise. © NIWA
Those of you who read the NZ Herald yesterday would have seen a great story in the World section about the impact of bottom trawling on rare deep sea fish.
The article tells us that last week more than 50 of Britains leading marine scientists and ecologists have called on the UK Government to demand a moratorium on deep sea trawling at the United Nations. They warn of irreparable damage to the sea floor if action isn't taken soon. Continue
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Te Wai Pounamu
October 18, 2005
Yay - we're in the South Island and pretty excited about it. Apart from the sheer beauty of the areas we'll be passing through, its going to be great meeting people here and to continue to build support for NZ to do the right thing and champion a bottom trawling moratorium at the United Nations.
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Cmon Helen, Cmon...
October 17, 2005
Great news just through... Australia has made huge strides in the right direction by formally recognising the need for deep sea protection... Continue
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Older than my Grandmother!
October 17, 2005
Our road show sees us in Palmerston North - the birthplace of both Dean and Mal.
Homecoming crowds are always a bit nervy. Some of Dean's family turned up which he was stoked with. During the slideshow he pointed out that an orange roughy, one and a half times the length of your hand, is about 80 years old - just like his Nana in the there in the front row. Continue
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On The Road with Meghan
October 17, 2005
I have been involved with Greenpeace for about five years. I have worked as a frontliner here and in Australia, and I have volunteered at the Auckland office whenever I could drag myself away from my Wellington home. I felt privileged when I was asked to join the oceans road-show as I had know several people who had traveled out into the Tasman on the Rainbow Warrior earlier in the year to confront the bottom trawlers and it is an issue I am greatly concerned about. Continue
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London, New York, Napier and beyond
October 12, 2005
We've been in Napier the past couple of days where attendees of our slideshow and visitors to our information stall joined in the growing call for a UN moratorium by signing and sending postcards to Helen Clark. The voices of people in Napier are adding to voices from all around the world. Here are just a few things that have been happening the last few days.
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From the high seas and back home to Gisborne
October 10, 2005
Sailing on the Rainbow Warrior earlier this year was a fantastic experience and I am proud that the footage we documented has had such global impact. Now, back on land, I am taking the experience of my trip to the people of New Zealand, as part of the national touring roadshow.
My Rainbow Warrior experience started out of the blue one day several months ago when I received a call asking me if I would like to join the crew on board as a volunteer deckhand
to leave in the next few days. Of course I couldnt refuse and the next thing I knew I was sailing out of Auckland to confront the issue of high seas bottom trawling. Continue
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First hand stories of deep sea destruction
October 6, 2005
A giant piece of 500 year old gorgonian coral being hoisted out of a bottom trawl net.
We were in Whakatane yesterday for the second stop of our trip. We set up our information stall and once again we had plenty of people coming along to find out what the story was with the giant coral being chucked over the back of the boat. Continue
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Old friends in Whakatane
October 6, 2005
 While in Whakatane we were really lucky to catch up with Joe Harawera from the group Sawmill Workers Against Poisons. Joe and Greenpeace have had a long relationship fighting for justice for sawmill workers and the environment in Whakatane that have been poisoned by timber treatment processes over the years.
Joe's efforts and those of his fellow workers are inspirational. It has been a long struggle but they are finally starting to see some justice being done. You can read more about their campaign here.
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Dear Prime Minister....
October 5, 2005
 At the end of the day it is the worlds governments that have the power to protect deep sea life. Here in NZ, our Government has been making some promising noises, recognising that there is a problem and that something must be done about it.
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We're on the road!
October 5, 2005
 The 'How much more proof do you need?' roadshow is underway!
We had the first day of the tour in Tauranga yesterday. And it was fantastic - Dean, Meghan, Gareth and I are now more excited than ever about travelling around the country and talking about the impacts of bottom trawling on deep sea life! Continue
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The Deep Sea Road Trip Itinerary
September 28, 2005
We're visiting as many towns and cities as we can over the next 4 weeks. We'll be doing slideshows for Greenpeace members in the evenings and street stalls during the day.
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