With 70% of the world's oceans overfished or at their limit, the Pacific has some of the world's last healthy fisheries. The Rainbow Warrior is touring the Pacific between July and September to engage with governments, industry and Pacific communities and help them protect their ocean from overfishing and piracy.

Pacific - one of the world's last healthy fisheries

The Pacific has one of the Earth's most abundant and healthy fisheries; more than half the world's tuna is fished here.

However with over 70 percent of the world's fisheries fully exploited, overexploited or depleted, the Pacific is attracting increasing numbers of foreign industrial fishing vessels as well as pirate fishers. Many of these vessels have no concern for the environment, and through over-fishing and destructive fishing methods are threatening the Pacific's fragile ocean environment and the communities that depend on it.

More:
Factsheet - Pacific, the Last Healthy Fishery... (HTML)
Poster - Our Ocean (PDF)
Poster - Pacific the Last Healthy Fishery (PDF)

Fishing has changed

Today many large fishing boats come from all over the world, taking nearly 2 million tonnes of fish from the Pacific. The local commercial fishing industry catches about 200,000 tonnes - just 10 percent of the total.

Already some pacific tuna species are showing signs of overfishing.

More:
Factsheet - Unfair Fishing (HTML)
Poster - Fishing Has Changed (PDF)

Global Fisheries Collapse

Three quarters of the world's fisheries are in deep trouble, or at their very limit, according to the United Nations. Examples of collapsed fisheries include Canada's cod fishery, and in North Africa fisheries are already in trouble due to overfishing and piracy by foreign vessels:

Senegal's fishing communities find it harder and harder to catch enough fish since fishing rights have been sold to European and Asian countries. Big industrial trawlers illegally fish outside their radius and take all of the fish with them.

"We used to try to catch what we wanted... Now, we catch what we find."
Maguette Dieng, Senegalese Fisher

In the early 90s the Canadian North Atlantic Cod Fishery collapsed because of overfishing. 40,000 people lost their jobs.

"Even though we were increasing our gear the fish were getting much smaller... We had to catch twice as much fish for the same amount of weight."
Canadian Fisherman

More:
Factsheet - Pacific the Last Healthy Fishery (HTML)
Poster - Pacific the Last Healthy Fishery (PDF)

Where do our fish go?
The world is desperate for our fish. The Western and Central Pacific is home to the world's biggest tuna fishery, 60 percent of the world's canned tuna and 30 percent of Japan's sashimi (raw fish delicacy) comes from here.

Canned Tuna
Production of canned tuna tripled between 1976 and 2001 The main countries producing canned tuna are Thailand, the United States (which has 2 canneries in American Samoa) and Spain. They export canned tuna mostly to Asia, Europe and the USA.

Fresh Tuna
Fresh tuna is airlifted to the Tokyo fish markets where Pacific caught species can fetch up to US$15,000 per tonne. Raw tuna (sashimi) is served as a popular delicacy in Japanese restaurants around the world.

More:
Poster - Where do our fish go? (PDF)

Unfair Fishing

Industrial fishers make over US $2 billion out of the Pacific's fish resources. Pacific nations get only 5 percent of these profits. Pacific nations receive US$20-45 per tonne through fishing licenses even though Pacific tuna is worth between $800 and $15,000 per tonne.

Pacific countries receive nothing from pirate fishers

Ninety-five percent of the profits of fishing tuna go to the Taiwan, Japan, Korea, European Union and US (caption). These are Distant Water Fishing Nations.

"My experience is that we catch more fish in the past... it is more difficult now to get many fish, and that is what I have heard from many people."
Dr Pepine Iosua, Kiribati

More:
Factsheet - Unfair Fishing (HTML)
Poster - Unfair Fishing (PDF)

Pirates steal from everyone

Pirate fishing is all Illegal, Unreported, Unregulated fishing. Pirate Fishing is conservatively estimated to make up 5-15 percent of fishing effort in the region and Pacific nations receive nothing from them.

"These people have no licence to fish; they break laws in order to catch fish. They have no regard for whatever regulation is there."
Lamiller Pawut - Monitoring, Control and Surveillance Manager, National Fisheries Authority, PNG

Pirate vessels register in countries that don't require their ships to look after the environment or pay taxes - these countries such as Belize, Georgia and Panama offer 'Flags of Convenience' and do not care about following rules.

More:
Factsheet - Threat of Pirates (HTML)
Factsheet - How Pirates defy international rules (HTML)
Poster - Pirates Steal from everyone (PDF)

Working Together

The good news is that Pacific nations and other nations fishing in the Pacific will now work together in the world's newest fisheries management organisation - the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission.

The Commission will set limits on the number of fish caught, , how they can be caught, and develop tough rules to stop pirates from stealing fish.

Pacific Island States working together will have a greater say in the protection and management of our fisheries.

Greenpeace aims to ensure the Fisheries Convention lives up to its goals.

More:
Factsheet - Saving Our Seas from Pirates (HTML)
Factsheet - A New Era in Fisheries Management (HTML)
Poster - Working Together (PDF)

Our Fish Our Future

Everyone has a right to be involved in making sure there is enough fish to feed us all. Together we can make strong rules that will keep the big fishing boats and pirate fishers under control.

Our actions today will support our children's future.

More:
Poster - Our fish, Our Future (PDF)

Our Choice

Help our Governments say no to pirates and protect our future:

• Get involved in fisheries management forums.
• Watch out for unregistered and illegal fishing boats in your area, and report them to the authorities.
• Sign on to the Greenpeace petition to the Commission to the Western & Central Pacific Fisheries Convention.
• Ask your radio station to play the new Te Vaka song, "Our Oceans".
• Write to your Fisheries Minister and local newspapers with your concerns.

More:
Factsheet - A New Era in Fisheries Management (HTML)
Factsheet - Working Together (HTML)
Poster - Our Choice (PDF)