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30 April 2006

"Abandon ship"- dressed as a lobster

by Dorothee, onboard the Esperanza

At regular intervals, or when new people (like me) arrive on the ship, an 'abandon ship' drill is held to show everyone what to do in an emergency.

That means that once the alarm rings, we all have to stop whatever we’re doing, run to the helli-deck and assemble in good order: crew members on one side, campaigners and visitors on the other. Once Nadia has checked everybody off the list, different tasks have to be fulfilled. Each crew member has a different task to perform. As one of the boat team, mine is to free the taglines on our inflatables, so that they can be launched quickly.

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29 April 2006

Alejandro - Oceans Campaigner

Hola! My name is Alejandro Olivera, and I am the Mexican oceans campaigner. As a Latin American I am very happy to join Defending Our Oceans, the biggest expedition that Greenpeace has ever had. In this part of the expedition I am on board to spread the word in Latin America about some of the amazing treasures that inhabit our oceans around the Azores, and how they can be protected.

We know more about the surface of the moon that about our deep oceans, and Latin American oceans are no exception. We can learn from the scientists and experts on board the Esperanza how to use the same high-tech tools to explore and learn about our own oceans, and win the race against destructive fisheries that are destroying species before we can even learn about them.

As a marine biologist I am very concerned about the threat to the oceans, which cover three quarters of the planet. Pollution, destructive fisheries, global warming, habitat loss and overfishing are just some of the threats that our oceans are suffering, and this has lead to marine life to becoming depleted in many areas. In Mexico, we have lost 65% of the ocean breeding-grounds, the mangrove forests. Unsustainable fishing has depleted shark and marine mammal populations and is emptying what Jacques Cousteau declared to be " the world’s aquarium" - the sea of Cortez. Because of this I decided to join Greenpeace.

There is a solution to this wanton destruction, and it is marine reserves. If we protect 40% of the oceans as marine reserves, then they can function as recovery zones, allowing sustainable fisheries which can provide jobs and food to thousands of people.

You can help us make this happen! Join us now on this expedition and become an Ocean Defender!

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Laura - Press Officer

How come you're working on Defending our Oceans?
Working on a Greenpeace ship has been a dream since a long time; especially on the oceans campaign on which I have been working in the Netherlands for some years now.

What are you looking forward to most in this campaign?
As a press officer I have been working on sea-related subjects, mostly from my desk; I am very thrilled to see whales in real time!

How/why did you get involved with Greenpeace?
I used to work as a journalist, three years ago I found a job at Greenpeace Netherlands as a presss officer.

What personal connection do you have to the ocean (if any?)
I love water for swimming and sailing. I live in The Hague, the Netherlands, quite close to the sea. Whenever I want to clear my head I cycle to the beach to walk along. It always fascinates me what is underneath the surface - all colourful fishes and funny creatures that live in a completely different habitat!

What made you follow your chosen profession?
The world is being overexploited and although it's good to do whatever I can in my daily life, it feels good to be part of a bigger organisation that works to protect the environment and preserves the treasures of this world.

Anything else you'd like to say?
Being five months pregnant it is very special to be on a Greenpeace ship protecting the oceans. I hope my children can enjoy nature as much as we will do on this trip!

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Wolf - ROV Operator

How come you're working on Defending our Oceans?
I have been working for Greenpeace since 1987 mainly with issues related to the protection of marine ecosystems. This included campaigning as well as participating in actions, research work, diving, documentation and - since two years - ROV-operating. Being a geologist by profession, I have a deep interest in the welfare of the ocean ecosystem as a whole unit and I am still very much interested in learning more about the different aspects of the marine world. Especially the Azores-section of the Defending Our Oceans Campaign may encourage cooperation between environmentalists and established science, and lead to a better and more cooperative protection of the marine ecosystems.

What are you looking forward to most in this campaign?
Personally, I hope to see and help to bring up good images from the remote ecosystems of the deep sea which we are going to inspect on this trip ...

How/why did you get involved with Greenpeace?
I came to Geenpeace in 1986, driving a truck on an action against a nuclear waste storage facility in Germany. I later participated in a Greenpeace Sea Turtle protection project in French Guyana which I then followed up as a backup co-ordinator in the German Greenpeace office. Since then, I somehow "caughtt the bug" ...

What personal connection do you have to the ocean (if any?)
What can I say - I was always very much intersted in the sea. In my early days I joined my father, who was a captain, on some of his trips. I learned to dive when I was thirteen, being depply impressed by all the books of diving pioneers like Hans Hass, Jacques Cousteau and others. I finally chose a profession which should give me the opportunity to learn more about - and later - to stay in close contact with the marine environment and its diverse aspects.

What made you follow your chosen profession?
There was always a very strong interest for me in nature and natural science. Geology seemed the best base for me to combine the different fields of earth- and bio-sciences - to get the most encompassing approach.

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In search of seamounts

by Joss, onboard the Esperanza

This morning as I stir in my bunk there's a different feel about the ship, a quivering energy that's been absent for the past few days. My sleepy mind gropes to explain the change, and then lights on the reason - the engines are running!

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Podcast: Whales, noise pollution and military sonar

by Joss, onboard the Esperanza

Our oceans campaigner Richard describes how important sound is to whales and dolphins, and how underwater noise pollution, particularly from powerful military sonar equipment, may be having a powerful negative impact on these amazing creatures, even to the extent of causing their deaths.

Listen

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28 April 2006

At last - perfect whale-watching weather

by Joss, onboard the Esperanza

Some days things just go right. After a frustrating couple of days here in Horta when the weather stubbornly refused to play ball, remaining resolutely wet and cloudy, yesterday dawned bright, calm and fair – perfect whale-watching and filming weather, which is exactly what we were finally able to do. For me it was a dream come true: sperm whales, fin whales, sei whales and the rare Risso's dolphin, plus (most spectacular of all) a giant blue whale all crossed my path on a day I'll long remember.

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26 April 2006

Richard - Videographer

How come you're working on Defending our Oceans?
It’s a long time collaboration with Greenpeace.

What are you looking forward to most in this campaign?
In my job for Greenpeace, I'm most of the time in places where the nature is in ruins: underwater nuclear dump, oil spills, destructive logging. this time it's a bit different! This time it's about showing how nature can be amazingly beautiful!

We have very hi-tech equipment onboard, some very fine scientists, and we are about to explore the deep waters around the Azores. So there is a probability, that we might be able to see some amazing creatures from the depths, not to mention the giant squid!

How/why did you get involved with Greenpeace?
As a press cameraman I always wanted to add some meaning to my work. I've always been concerned by environmental issues and at the time all those matters were no 'front page news' like they are today. I started working for Greenpeace in '92, covering French nuclear activities. I keep working for the organisation over the years, and I must say I'm very gratified to do this work - informingpeople through with pictures about causes I believe in.

What personal connection do you have to the ocean (if any?)
None, I was born in the Alps!

What made you follow your chosen profession?
Wanting to be part of projects like this campaign

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25 April 2006

Courageous activist threatened

by Joss, onboard the Esperanza

There’s no doubt that the Azores is a success story – here on this island archipelago they’ve really turned things around in the last few years. A long tradition of whaling has morphed into profitable whale-watching, and destructive bottom trawling has been banned from Azorean waters. If only we could replicate this state of affairs throughout our oceans.

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Studying the mysterious lives of sperm whales

by Russell, onboard the Esperanza

What we see of the sperm whale at the surface only gives us a brief glimpse of a life that is spent mainly in the dark depths of the ocean. Early studies of sperm whales were mostly limited to studying their carcasses. More recently, through careful observation and with help from modern technology, we're beginning to learn more about their lives through benign research techniques that do not disturb them. Nevertheless, there are still many things we do not know. For example, we still don’t really know how they find and catch their food, or whether their numbers are increasing or decreasing.

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24 April 2006

Here be whales

by Richard, onboard the Esperanza

Today has been an extraordinary day in many ways, but one I will remember for the rest of my life for one thing in particular, I saw a blue whale. Russell and I were on the bridge wing when he spotted a blow and lead my eye to the sufacing whale.

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23 April 2006

The hydrophone - our 'ear' in the water

by Richard, onboard the Esperanza

One of the pleasing things about today was hearing a group of dolphins recorded by the hydrophone we are currently towing behind the ship. Russell Leaper, a whale scientist from the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) has been on board sorting out the hydrophone, a high-powered underwater microphone that can be configured to pick up sounds across a wide range of frequencies far above and below the range of human hearing.

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Liesbeth - Campaign Support

How come you're working on Defending our Oceans?
Oceans is a very important campaign for Greenpeace, so much of our oceans are under threat and there are solutions. When I was offered a chance to help this campaign from aboard a ship I didn’t have to think twice.

What are you looking forward to most in this campaign?
Getting a sense of how our work on land, the research there, the lobbying, the working with volunteers and campaigners hangs together with the actions people, the campaigners on board and the people that actually make the ship run.

How/why did you get involved with Greenpeace?
I saw an advertisement in the paper for a Director with the Dutch Greenpeace Office. I had no work experience in an environmental organisation but really wanted to join Greenpeace. And luckily they wanted me.

What personal connection do you have to the ocean (if any?)
Whenever I am on any boat or ship I already feel happy. The sounds and smells of the oceans are so good. I have always lived near water whenever I could and spend time on or in it. I boardsurfed in Australia, I did ocean racing and I love just generally hanging out by the sea. It is only natural to want to protect the thing you love.

What made you follow your chosen profession?
I am an international lawyer by training so I guess that I am not following any particular profession. I have been an air hostess, I cleaned houses, I had an antiquarian bookshop, I was involved in the anti nuclear protests in the eighties, I worked for local government and now have ended up working with Greenpeace.

Anything else you'd like to say?
When we were given our safety tour of the ship the first mate said "when you spot a problem it is yours,” meaning that when for instance you see spilled coffee you don’t go and find the ‘guilty’ party but you clean it up. Much quicker that way. I think that that is what Greenpeace is about - doing instead of having opinions and solving problems when and where you find them.

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Russell - Whale Research

How come you're working on Defending our Oceans?
I spent several years studying sperm whales around the Azores on the IFAW research vessel Song of the Whale. One of the goals of that project was to develop ways of studying whales that did not disturb them. One such method is to listen to the whales using a hydrophone. In particular, I was part of a team that developed ways of counting how many sperm whales there are from listening to the sounds that they make. The Esperanza is now towing a hydrophone and using specialized software developed by the IFAW team to monitor sperm whales.

What are you looking forward to most in this campaign?
Any opportunity to spend time with sperm whales always brings something new and exciting. Despite having studied this species for many years, there is still so much that we do not know.

How/why did you get involved with Greenpeace?
Greenpeace and IFAW share many common goals and the organizations often collaborate together for better protection of whales around the world.

What personal connection do you have to the ocean (if any?)
I spent most of my childhood by the sea and in small boats and since then I have tried to spend as much time at sea as possible.

What made you follow your chosen profession?
As well as getting out at sea and studying whales, the real work starts with analyzing and interpreting the data that are collected. I chose to study mathematics which has proven very useful for data analysis. I enjoy the combination of fieldwork and data processing.

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22 April 2006

Sperm Whales - myths and realities

by Richard, onboard the Esperanza

Of all the creatures of the deep ocean, the sperm whale probably enjoys the most legendary status. Immortalised in Moby Dick, in real life they are a far cry from the vengeful creature that tormented Captain Ahab and his crew. Quite the reverse, in fact. It was the whaling ships of the 19th and 20th centurys centuries that persecuted them. They were much prized for their valuable oil - in the southern hemisphere alone, 400,000 were killed in the 20th century. Thankfully, no commercial hunting of sperm whales has been allowed by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) since 1986, when a global moratorium on commercial whaling came into effect.

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21 April 2006

Joss - Web Editor

How come you're working on Defending our Oceans?
I work on the Oceans campaign in the UK and volunteered as soon as I heard about the Defending our Oceans expedition. It was still in the planning stages at that time so I didn't know which leg I would be involved in, but I know the Azores is one of the great places to go whale-watching, so I'm very excited.

What are you looking forward to most in this campaign?
Seeing sperm whales close up in their natural environment. They are such amazing creatures, and may well be smarter than we are, having the largest brain of any mammal!

How/why did you get involved with Greenpeace?
I’ve volunteered off and on over the years with environmental and peace groups (WDCS, CND), and a friend who worked for Greenpeace said they needed someone to edit video footage of their Active Supporters Unit. One thing led to another and I ended up working full-time for the UK Office.

To me Greenpeace is a remarkable organization. It is diverse and multi-faceted, and yet is able to bring people together to achieve change, sometimes on a big scale. Here on the ship alone we have many nationalities and languages working together in support of an idea which we all recognize as vital to the sustained good health of the planet.

What personal connection do you have to the ocean (if any?)
I’ve had a long-term love affair with dramatic coastlines since spending many summer holidays on the Gower Peninsula in Wales as a young boy. Sadly that love doesn’t extend to being an excellent sailor…

What made you follow your chosen profession?
In a long and varied career I’ve been a professional musician, charity fundraiser, children’s television editor and multimedia lecturer, so I can’t really say I have a chosen profession. I think that what’s really important is to keep learning, and if possible, applying what you’ve learnt…

Anything else you'd like to say?
The world’s oceans are so enormous that they might seem invulnerable to anything we can do to them – but they’re NOT. Their natural reserves are being depleted at a frightening rate, which is why we need marine reserves now - to give them some breathing space and time to recover.

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Richard - Oceans Campaigner & Project Co-ordinator

What are you looking forward to most in this campaign?
The doing after the planning. I became an environmental activist through my love of natural history and I'm excited by the prospect of seeing lots of different forms of marine life and not knowing exactly what we will see. The deep sea is particularly fascinating and there are bound to be surprises. Joining forces with some expert marine biologists courtesy of IFAW and the University of Azores also makes this leg extra special.

How/why did you get involved with Greenpeace?
When I was a teenager I saw footage of the whaling action where a Russian whaler fires a harpoon over the activists in a tiny Zodiac and thought I'm with that lot. Quite a few years later I found I was.

What made you follow your chosen profession?
You mean I could be doing something else???

Anything else you'd like to say?
Could we have a global network of marine reserves please?

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20 April 2006

A job for the weekend?

by Ed, onboard the Esperanza

The West Africa leg of the campaign is now over for the Esperanza and everything that was hoped for seems to have come to fruition - amazingly! There remains a lot of work to do now, with the ministers in Guinea and Spain and the EU...an unenviable job for the people of the EJF and Greenpeace. I think what we have all managed to do here so far, may well have long lasting effects which can help to make a change for the better, for people and the ocean, so well done everybody!!

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Talk to us - open thread

by Joss, onboard the Esperanza

Any questions, words of encouragement, hate mail, love mail, peace mail, etcetera: about seamounts, whales, pirates, fishing, the oceans, Greenpeace, us, what it's like to work onboard a ship - anything like that, send it our way. Really, we'd love to hear from you. This thread is a public forum.

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Setting off for the Azores

by Joss, onboard the Esperanza

Hello again from the Esperanza. It´s time for another crew change as the West Africa leg of the expedition comes to a triumphant conclusion, with the confiscation of the consignment of stolen fish from the Binar 4. And time to bid a fond farewell to our hard working webbie Dave Walsh, who heads off to the showers for a well-earned rest after putting in some sterling work, and to say hello to me, Joss Cope, his replacement.

This evening we´re heading off towards the islands of the Azores in the Atlantic. The waters around the Azores are home to some amazing marine life and habitats, including vast mountains under the sea known as seamounts (the 9 Azorean islands themselves are in fact mountain peaks of the giant mid-Atlantic ridge), giant squid and up to 26 different types of whales and dolphins; including the legendary sperm whale.

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Binar 4 Fined

This morning we heard from the Spanish authorities that the Guinean government has sent a fax confirming the cargo of the Binar 4 was illegal and that also a fine has already been imposed and paid.The Spanish government.

The Spanish fisheries ministry will be announcing this during today - and apparently they will be praising the work we've done to draw attention to this issue. Also, all the fish that can be verified as Guinean will be held in a freezer until a decision made on its fate - here's hoping it gets shipped back to Guinea! Of course, it is hard to know where some of the fish comes - the pirates fish don't care where the fish comes from, so there isn't necessarily any reliable records.

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Even a 6-year old can understand

by Cat, at the Greenpeace UK office in London

Last week I did a talk on Greenpeace and our oceans work for about a dozen 6-year-old girls at St Christopher's School in Hampstead, London, as a favour for a friend.

The girls were truly lovely and had an astounding level of knowledge about oceans - and not just about whales, dolphins and porpoises either! At Greenpeace, we are always talking about how people are disconnected from the sea, but the girls proved us all wrong - they are truly engaged. I think they must have watched every wildlife show on the oceans ever made! I thought they'd be a little young to really grasp some of the cause and effects of things like overfishing, pollution, etc, but they were able to make the connections with little prompting. My two favourite responses (unprompted) when I asked them how we should protect ocean life were:

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19 April 2006

Binar 4: Confiscation Confirmed!

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

More great news! As the Esperanza approaches Santa Cruz de Tenerife, we've just heard from Sara, who's back in Las Palmas, that the government will be confiscating any fish from Guinean waters that they find on board the Binar 4. The fisheries ministry have also invited us along to witness their inspection of the reefer. We don't know when the inspection will be yet - stay tuned, I'm sure there will be more news on this.

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Videoblog: Wrapping up the pirates

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

Welcome to Las Palmas! After a chase of over 1000 miles and six days occupying the "Binar 4" we prepare to say goodbye to sunny shores of the Canary Islands. And Sam and Sara do their last videoblog together... boohooo...

Watch Ocean Defenders TV »

Download the podcast (mp4) »

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18 April 2006

Victory in Las Palmas! Binar 4 in deep deep trouble... (updated with photos)

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

It's Tuesday in Las Palmas, and have we got news for you! After a seven day occupation of the Binar 4, the two goverments - Guinea and Spain, have agreed that the Binar 4's 200-tonne cargo of fish is illegal. The Guinean fisheries ministry are right now meeting to discuss fines for the pirate reefer. Once they've made their decision, they'll present their findings to the Spanish government, who've already told us the 11,000 boxes of stolen fish will be confiscated - and hopefully returned to Guinea.

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Raoul - Engineer

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17 April 2006

Day SIX - another activist arrested, but we're getting closer...

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

It's 9pm on Monday, day six of the Binar 4 protest. I've just come in from the bridge wing of the Esperanza, where Nadia's keeping watch on the reefer through binoculars. I've also just been talking to Sara - she's over by the reefer - who tells me that one of the activists has come down, and has been arrested - so we still have 2 people - one on the crow's nest, and one on the crane. They've been there for something like 90 hours now. After the arrest, Mr Kim, the apparent owner of the Binar 4 climbed up on the crane and started arguing with the remaining activist, and threatened to bring down the other activist on the crow's nest himself. I doubt she would be impressed. Anyway, the police intervened again, and made him back off. As I Sara told me all this on the phone, there was a rousing cheer from the gang on the dockside, as the police car went off with Oscar inside.

The guys on the Binar 4 have been incredible - this afternoon they were still smiling, still full of energy. Unfortunately, there wasn't much room on top of the crane, so the two guys there had barely enough room to sit, never mind lie. One of the climbers even gave a live radio interview - she conducted it by shouting from the top of the mast!

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Monday Update from Esperanza and Binar 4

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

Hello from the Esperanza. Easter is over, at least here in Gran Canaria - there's a public holiday in other parts of Europe, but Las Palmas is definitely back at work. If I look out the window of the ship's campaign office, I can see the the masts of the Binar 4, tucked away behind a row of longliners - however, it's about half a our walk around the port to get there.

We've now got the webcam pointed in that direction - off the starboard side, but it's pretty hard to make out the Binar 4. Watch for passing traffic!

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Stop the clocks!

by Ida, Swedish Oceans Campaigner

While the team on the Esperanza has been busy chasing pirates off the coast of west Africa, another show is taking place on land back in Europe. As part of our global campaign to protect the mysteries of the deep sea and to establish a moratorium on high seas bottom trawling we have taken a big bottom trawl net to the streets and cities of Europe. The net is accompanied with an exhibition of the beauty of the deep sea life and a gallery showing the destruction bottom trawling is causing deep deep down there where the sun doesn't shine like on the coast of Africa. Here a report from Ida, our campaigner in Sweden on how her second day with the net went.

"With frozen April fingers and inside a bottom trawl net a happy oceans campaigner is writing to tell you that the Swedish minister of environment has just expressed Sweden's full support for a moratorium on bottom trawling on the high seas!

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Douze point pour la Suède - Sweden's Minister announces their support for a UN moratorium on High Seas Bottom Trawling

by Saskia, Greenpeace EU Oceans Policy Advisor, who has been beavering away to get the EU to agree to a UN moratorium on high seas bottom trawling

So well done Sweden! Or in Eurovision language: 'Douze point pour la Suède'! The Swedish Environment Minister yesterday publicly declared her support for a global moratorium on high seas bottom trawling. Her statement is significant not only in the sense that it maintains Sweden's commonly progressive role on environmental issues, it also provides further momentum for those countries in the European Union (EU) that want to end the reckless deep sea destruction.

Believe it or not, the 25 EU Member States have been politically deadlocked over their position on a UN Resolution in favour of a moratorium for more than three years now. Why you may ask, given that the evidence of unsustainability and destruction is so evident? Well, because unlike the Eurovision song contest, political decisions in the EU are not always taken on the basis of whether they get the most votes (though some are of course). What's more, in case of the moratorium, it even seems irrelevant whether the votes are cast by you or directly by your ministers. It is called 'decision-making by consensus'. In other words, all 25 EU states have to agree before they can take action.

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Another Activist Arrested on the Binar 4

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

I'm posting this in the early hours of Monday morning - we've had a continuous occupation of the Binar 4 since Wednesday afternoon!

Today though, another activist, Xavier (AKA Happy) was arrested - he'd climbed down from the Crow's Nest to talk to the others, but got more or less muggged by one of the Binar 4's crew. The police intervened, arrested Xavier and booked him for disobedience. He's spending tonight in the cells.

The current group of Spanish activists have been on the Binar 4 since the early hours of Friday morning - that's nearly four days on board, on the crow's nest and crane. These activists had replaced the earlier group that had gone on board from the Esperanza on Wednesday afternoon - the changeover was done in the earlier hours of Friday morning. So the Spanish team have been up there nearly 72 hours!

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15 April 2006

Turtle activists held over the weekend in Delhi

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza in Las Palmas, The Canary Islands

Update from New Delhi - In an absurd move, of the 12 activists arrested for protesting outside the house of Orissa's Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik, three have been charged under the Wildlife Protection Act, and are being held over the weekend at the Tughlaq Road Police Station.

The ridiculous charges come because they transported dead Olive Ridley turtles from Orissa to Delhi in order to bring attention to the fact that in the last 10 years, a shocking 100,000 Olive Ridley turtles have died in Orissa. The UN had marked 2006 as the "International Year of the Turtle", an irony that's not lost on us here on the Defending our Oceans campaign.

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Saturday afternoon - protest continues on the Binar 4

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

It's a hot Saturday afternoon here in Las Palmas. Down the quay from the Esperanza, it's business as a the Binar 4 - we've still got activists on board the ship, up on the crane and crow's nest. That means that we've had a continuous occupation since Wednesday afternoon - four days! Not much has happened since the owner of the Binar 4 hung the banner saying "Greenpeace is violent" (peace is violence?). The police are being quite friendly towards us, and to the activists on board. Sara, Sarah and I have mentioned in earlier blogs, we're holding out for Monday - after the Easter holidays - when the Spanish government really has make a decision on the 11,000 boxes of illegally caught fish in the Binar 4's hold.

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14 April 2006

Strange things happen when you are no longer at sea

by Sara, onboard the Esperanza

Strange things happen when you are no longer at sea. It's not as though we have been away that long, but even so, what you become attuned to in a short period of time is turned on its head.

The mess room tables looked completely naked this morning, until Ed pointed out that we no longer had to have the sticky table cloths ('elephant skin') that stop your plate sliding from under your knife and fork like those guys with the sarsaparillas in western movie saloon bars.

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Guineans say "thank you"

by Sarah, onboard the Esperanza

I have just come back from a wander down to the Binar 4 to visit the activists, who are still up on the crane and masts. The crew of the Binar 4 have now put up their own banner to rival ours which says 'Greenpeace is Violent' in Spanish. The team onboard managed to get our banners back in place and are still happy.

But what really touched me was the three Guineans who had come down to the Esperanza to say "thank you" to us for what we are doing. They said that from Madrid to Barcelona and beyond all their mates are on the phone asking whether they 'saw the Greenpeace stuff on TV?', and saying how great they think it is. They said that Guinea is a poor country, their fish is being stolen and that they were really happy to see us here. If we do manage to have open boats here in Las Palmas they said they wanted to come down.

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Turtle Camp: 12 arrested in New Delhi

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

While we've been busy with the pirate cargo vessel Binar 4 in Las Palmas, this morning Ocean Defenders in New Delhi were arrested after delivering the carcasses of three turtles, along with skulls, bones and carapaces of several others, to the residence of Naveen Patnaik, the Chief Minister of Orissa, along with a banner stating "Orissa Turtles: Killed on arrival. Chief Accused: Chief Minister".

This was to show evidence of Mr Patnaik' government's ineptitude and inability to protect the endangered Olive Ridley turtles that arrive each year to nest on the beaches of Orissa.

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Wallpaper: Atlantic Wildlife

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

Due to popular demand - like everyone who posted the comments Slideshow: Atlantic Wildlife, West Africa thread, Elaine in Amsterdam has knocked up wallpapers of some photographs from our trip, including dolphins, turtles, terns and a booby (oooh, misbehave!).

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Poaching a pirate press conference

by Jim, in Las Palmas, the Canary Islands

Ok, here's the word from Jim, who went the Binar 4 press conference yesterday. In other breaking news - Marta is out of jail!

I couldn't believe it when I got the phone call from Paloma this morning: "the shipowner is going to give a press conference in front of the Binar 4 at 12 noon" This would be an excellent opportunity to get down there and tell our side of the story - let the journalists and the world know what is really going on in Guinean waters - and indeed in every ocean of the world. The problem we faced was that the police here are being very strict. The Spanish campaign team have already been barred from the port, and there was no way that the port communications manager was going to let anyone from Greenpeace into the shipowner's press conference!

So... we frantically hatched a plan. Donning dark glasses, a clipboard and a camera round my neck, I smuggled myself through the police checkpoint and mingled into the throng of hacks poking cameras and microphones into the face of the shipowner on the quayside.

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13 April 2006

Arrival in Las Palmas (updated) - Marta still in Jail (not anymore!)

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

Welcome to Las Palmas! It's 20:04, GMT+1 (21:04 in Amsterdam). We've just come alongside in the commercial port of Las Palmas. In what was either a bitter twist of irony, or a sense of humour on the part of the port authorities, we've been berthed less than 200m from the Binar 4.

As a result, as the pilot took us into dock, we came in past the Binar 4, and could wave to our guys the crows nest and crane. They've been up there for more than 24 hours now!

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24 Hours on the Binar 4, and its murky history

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

Latest news from the peaceful protest on the Binar 4 - one of our activists, Marta, has been arrested - but three others remain up on the masts and on the monkey island of the pirate reefer - where they've been for nearly 24 hours! Marta is still being held by the police, but we're hoping she'll be released soon. They're making sure that there's no movement of fish from the ship. There's constant police presence on the quayside, but it's friendly enough. Earlier today, the owner of the Binar 4 held a press conference at the Binar 4. One of our people on land, Jim, was present, and he'll blog something on this later.

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Video: The effects of pirate fishing

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

Guinea's coastal communities are dependant on fishing, and are feeling the effects pirate fleets trawling their waters. This video shows the coastal communities of Guinea harvesting fish, and the pirate vessels that come within 4 miles of the coast to steal fish.

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12 April 2006

Pirate Fishing: The tangled web

by Sara & Dave, onboard the Esperanza, and Elaine back in Amsterdam

Ok, we admit it - this whole pirate fishing business is very messy, very complicated, and incredibly hard to explain. The pirates like it that way - it makes it easier for them to cover their tracks. Sara, with the help of onboard memory man Sam, spent a large chunk of last weekend huddled around a table in the lounge, with a bag of crayons, and lots of A4 sheets sellotaped together, trying to make sense of it all. They were also trying to illustrate the complicity of the great pirate conspiracy in a way that would help people not on board the Esperanza to understand it all, and wouldn't think that we were all mad.

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Activists on board the Binar 4! (updated, with photos)

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

Update from the Esperanza: As the Binar 4 entered the port of Las Palmas, with "Stolen Fish" painted on its sides, four of our activists climbed on board, as a peaceful protest. So far, the authorities in Las Palmas are refusing to authorize the Binar 4 from offloading. Our activists are keeping an eye on things until Spain makes a move to confiscate this illegally caught fish.

When the reefer waiting to enter the port, the activists also branded it with the slogan "Stolen Fish" - painted five times across both sides of the hull. As already mentioned in the blog, we've been following this ship for six days - since we caught it illegally transshipping just outside Guinean waters, with trawlers that had been fishing in Guinean waters. More »

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Pirate Fish Smuggler Nabbed in Las Palmas

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

Breaking news! - we have caught up with the Binar 4, the ship loaded with more than 11,000 boxes of stolen fish as it entered the Las Palmas, in the Canary Islands.

As the pirate smuggler waited to enter the port, activists in inflatables managed to paint "STOLEN FISH" in big white letters no less than five times on both sides of the reefer.

More news as we have it...

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Stolen Fish: Where your dinner comes from

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

Throughout the Pirate Fishing leg of the Defending our Oceans expedition, we've attempted to tell the story of the stolen fish - pulled from the waters of already impoverished West African countries like Sierra Leone and Guinea, and served up on European dinner plates.

European shoppers pay more money for these fish than would be paid in African nations - but ultimately it's the African people that pay the price. The middlemen are the pirate fishing companies, taking the fish for free, and making a fortune from it. They don't have to contribute to maintaining fisheries or any of the practices supported by legal fishing companies. It's a race to the bottom - why obey the laws when the guy next to you isn't - and he's making more money, and not getting caught.

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Slideshow: Where your fish comes from

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

This is where your fish comes from. Tthe fishing vessels in this slideshow are licenced to fish in Guinean waters - but just because they're not pirates doesn't mean that there's acceptable conditions on board, for either the crew or their cargo of fish.

The fish are stored in squalid conditions below deck, in rusting fish trays. The freezers have - quite frankly - seen better times - they're covered in rust and grime. The temperature guages are rotted away. The trays of fish and cardboard boxes are stacked haphazardly.

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10 April 2006

Crazy Jumping Dolphins!

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

It's the dead patch of the afternoon - the heat of the day has set in, and the campaign office is sticky and stuffy. On the ship, watches are being checked - how close to tea break?

Then the cry goes up from Nadia, on the bridge, "Crazy Jumping Dolphins". There's a stampede from the campaign office towards the bridge. If I haven't left the telephoto lens on my camera, there's a few seconds of juggling, swearing and fidgeting before I follow the others out.

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Slideshow: Atlantic Wildlife, West Africa

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

It seems like years since we departed Cape Town and starting sailing north. Now, as we trail the Binar4 towards Las Palmas, it's probably time to do a little gallery of some of the wildlife we've seen along the way. I've done our best to identify all of the animals correctly - but please tell me if I'm wrong!

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Mauritania and the Ship From Hell

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

As we sail north towards the Canary Islands, it's sobering to read an article posted by Reuters on the dwindling state of Mauritania's fish stocks. The problems we've been highlighting are widespread across the waters of many poor countries According to the people that journalist Nick Tattersall talks to, the trawlers doing must of the damage in Mauritania are from the EU.

As a result, the EU boats can clean out the deeper parts of the 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ), while Mauritanian boats are small, outdated, and unable to compete. Like in the countries further south, most of the Mauritanian fishermen ply their trade in pirogues - the long wooden boats, painted with bright colours. According to the Fisheries Minister - €600 million of fish caught every year, Mauritania only receives about €100 million - he new government is determined to crack down on this drain on the country's resources.

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10,000 boxes of stolen fish making for Las Palmas

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

Monday morning: The Esperanza is currently trailing the Panamian-registered refrigerated cargo vessel Binar4, as it makes a beeline for Las Palmas, in the Canary Islands - notorious centre of the fish-laundering business. We've been close to the Panamanian-registered Binar4 since before the weekend, as it started steaming north. This morning our folks in Spain presented evidence to the Fisheries Ministry in Madrid, outlining why the ship should be banned from entering the port of Las Palmas when it arrives, in two or three days time.

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8 April 2006

Gravity is free, use it

by Hughie, onboard the Esperanza

Hughie, our on-board pilot, was on the Esperanza during the Southern Ocean leg of the Defending Oceans expedition. Now he's back! And he's decided to tell you a story about how helicopters stay in the air...

Flying in a job like this requires special techniques that you wouldn't normally use in commercial aviation. Working with photographers is always a challenge, as they need and expect precision and positioning. Keep the light right, keep the height right - no specks in the horizon, and no full frame - it must be right. These pictures are going out for the world to see.

Lots of unseen forces are working against you when you fly, and a helicopter is a bit like a Bumble Bee, in so much as it should not fly!

If you treat air as water, and you can get a picture in your mind of how it behaves, then you have a start, and you can turn these forces round to work with you. I have done kayaking in rivers, and water behaves the same way as air when it is confronted by an obstacle. When air hits a mountain it is deflected up - this is a good situation, when it goes over the top it rolls and descends - this can be bad.

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Slideshow: Helicopters and pirate ships

by Pierre & Dave, onboard the Esperanza

You've seen the Southern Ocean from the air - now it's time to get a bird's eye view of the flat seas off West Africa, where pirate fishing vessels pack their freezers full of stolen fish. Now Hughie writes about flying, and we join him in the heli, in this slideshow...

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7 April 2006

Callous Bastards

by Pete, captain of the Esperanza

After being in an area such as this for a while, you begin to get a picture of what's going on around you. The way the weather changes at different times of day, the night sky, the phases of the moon, the wildlife, even the change in sea water temperature. But you also learn to identify the areas where you are likely to meet other craft; it is knowledge that just accumulates.

As has been well documented in other weblogs, we see a lot of local fisherman. They are in small canoes (pirogues), and generally speaking, in shallower water and close to the shore. The concentrations and exact locations vary - depends on the where the fish are I suppose.

These small craft do not show up on radar, or are lost in the "sea clutter". Radar cannot be relied upon to give the bridge watchkeepers sufficient warning of their presence. It's only by keeping a sharp lookout - especially so at night - that a ship will have sufficient warning and therefore sufficient time to avoid running them down and probably killing their occupants.

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6 April 2006

Return of the zombie ships

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

Part 2 of a two-part story: Read Part 1 »

Last week, we told the story of the Chinese zombie ships of West Africa - this week we went back, and interviewed the men on board.

The Chinese fisherman clears his throat and gives a nervous glance to his right. "When I'm fishing I will be busy - it will be easy to forget".

We're standing on the deck of one the shattered 'zombie ships', the Lian Run 16, anchored 120km from the coast of Guinea. 38-year-old Jia, a lean, hardy man with sad eyes and a ready smile, is telling us how, five days ago, he said goodbye to his wife and 11-year old son, Xinyi. The next time he sees them, his son will be 13. It's easier to forget, it seems, than torture oneself.

After job losses in a coal plant in his native city of Dalian, Jia signed up for fishing through an agency. The Lian Run company flew him, his wife and his son all the way to Conakry in Guinea. Now he's on his own, on board a decrepit ship that isn't going anywhere.

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Slideshow: Return of the zombie pirate ships

by Pierre, onboard the Esperanza

Last week, we visited the Chinese zombie ships of West Africa, and published a slideshow of images showing the state of the ships - this week we went back to visit the crews on board, and to find out about the living conditions. Pierre Gleize's photographs bear witness to the situation.

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Videoblog: Pirate ship graveyard

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

We're taken on a tour of the pirate ship graveyard 150 km off the coast of Guinea, West Africa. Talking to some of the crew, 13 000km away from home, we hear stories of how they got to be there and see the ramshackle conditions they have to live in. Get an insight into the real business of pirate fishing.

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5 April 2006

Nolan - 2nd Engineer

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4 April 2006

Gorton's, Sealord and Nissui Withdraw from Whaling!

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

A big hardy thank you to all of you Ocean Defenders! You stuck with webbie Andrew and the crews of the Esperanza and Arctic Sunrise all through the 70-something days of the whaling trip. Even when the ships eventually had to return to land, you still helped push for an end to whaling through consumer and political pressure. Globally, Ocean Defenders sent a total of 100,000 emails to Nissui-related companies. And they didn't like it, not one bit. But why are we thanking you?

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The summit for life on earth - protecting what?

by Karen, who was just at the Convention on Biological Diversity in Curitibam, Brazil

The CBD meeting is over. After two long weeks, we have finally left the gathering of nearly 5000 people at the Convention Centre in Brazil who were focussed on the plight of our planet's biodiversity. Our team is pretty exhausted, as, I am sure are many of the negotiators who were there, working through the night to negotiate the Decisions that would take the work of the Convention forward.

I have to admit that I am left pretty frustrated, wondering whether all that talking achieved much in the way of actually protecting biodiversity and our planet's future. It seemed as if the focus on protecting biodiversity, one of the central objectives of this Convention, was forgotten as countries focused instead on how to make sure that there were few new rules that they would have to adhere to - few new obligations that they would have to meet.

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3 April 2006

Elvis has left the Atlantic

by Sara (media), onboard the Esperanza

It's a strange life. There aren't many jobs that I can think of where you stand on the bridge wing of a ship in the middle of the ocean, in the middle of the night, staring intently at a distant glow of light on the inky black horizon, willing with every fibre of your being that the glow will brighten into a group of pirate ships. Not a single one of us on that bridge wing questioned the normality of the situation.

Somewhere out on the water was our inflatable, the African Queen, carrying Sarah, Sam, Pierre, Stan, and Sabine, ready to investigate the "happening" on the horizon. Within seconds of launching, the African Queen zoomed away from our mother ship, disappearing into the night.

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Reefer Madness

by Sarah (campaigner), onboard the Esperanza

Rumours of our retirement have been greatly exaggerated. Despite reports of the Esperanza heading to the 'tropical' island of South Georgia (it has penguins!), we've actually been on the tail of the pirate trawlers all this time. Now Sarah brings us up to date with the latest adventure - Dave

I was woken up at 11pm last night, with the news that there were possible targets on the radar. I rushed up to the bridge to see the glowing green smudges on the radar. The smudges were not moving ­ a possible sign of boats transshipping - transferring cargo from one to the other.

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2 April 2006

Please, please check what you buy

by Hughie, onboard the Esperanza

Over the last week, we have witnessed some of the most degrading situations imaginable. Fishermen who are subjected to virtual slavery, and condemned to work aboard illegal vessels. The vessels themselves are not even fit for scrap - how they stay afloat is a complete mystery.

These men have to live on board with their documents held by the people they work for. Recently we assisted the fisheries enforcement agents to arrest a vessel that was 'not on the list' and escort it to Conakry where it will be 'dealt with'. For the boat, use it as a breakwater - it's rotten - but the crew, that may well be a different matter. We assume that they are all legitimate workers, but some may be refugees escaping from a life of war and poverty - what will be their fate?

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Conakry Roads

by MikeMate, onboard the Esperanza

Five miles off Îles De Loos, I awoke Stan. He'd been sleeping on a pile of folded up cockroach-infested cardboard fish boxes, all bearing the markings of sister ships to the Lian Run No 14. It was my "Cock-a-doodle-doo" that woke him up, on the VHF channel. Stan was one of five crew who'd spent the night on board the pirate trawler as it zigzagged its way to Conakry. According to him, there wasn't even a steering wheel in the wheel house.

"Stan, you don't seem to be slowing down. you're three miles off Île Kassa."

"Oh really?", he replied, "I'd better have a look'n'see what's happening, Mike".

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1 April 2006

Pirates: If you can't beat em? Join em!

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

It's already been a very busy day on board the Esperanza. The pirate fishing campaign has ended, and we're currently sailing southwest, away from land, and away from civilisation. A quick crew-campaign meeting this morning ended with a conclusion of 'to hell with returning to port', and a resolution to head to a remote island where we can take a break from the rigours of environmental campaigning, sunning ourselves on the beach while drinking improbable cocktails.

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