http://weblog.greenpeace.org/pacific/ en-us 2004-09-09T00:40:07+12:00 http://weblog.greenpeace.org/pacific/archives/001726.html For the last two months the Rainbow Warrior travelled the Pacific Islands. We spoke to artisinal fishermen, fishing boat workers, politicians, regulators, industry leaders and really anyone and everyone. Many are having a hard time catching all the fish... Andrew via Email 2004-09-09T00:40:07+12:00 http://weblog.greenpeace.org/pacific/archives/001716.html (C) Greenpeace Today we visited Tanagai village to talk with Ana Fouagale. She is a fisherwoman, which is rare outside the Solomons, but common here, where women do quite a large share of the work. Sometimes she goes out in... Andrew via Email 2004-09-06T16:20:43+12:00 http://weblog.greenpeace.org/pacific/archives/001715.html (C) Greenpeace One of the challenges here is that foreign players, who can afford to own the big fishing vessels, are catching the vast majority of the fish. The ships doing the pirate fishing are also from these same... Andrew via Email 2004-09-06T16:20:11+12:00 http://weblog.greenpeace.org/pacific/archives/001703.html (C) Greenpeace Huge turnout for today's open boat. We're estimating a total of 1,500 people visited in six hours. But it wasn't the big turn out that made it a great open boat day - the best thing was how... Andrew via Email 2004-09-04T21:20:09+12:00 http://weblog.greenpeace.org/pacific/archives/001700.html (C) Greenpeace I'm almost getting used to things like painted island warriors waving long sharp looking spears around and screaming in my face. Like eyes bugging out and good volume. Less scary only because I know this is the "challenge"... Andrew via Email 2004-09-03T22:20:06+12:00 http://weblog.greenpeace.org/pacific/archives/001698.html Information from the ocean via space to tuna vessels "Fish Hate Us" is the catchy headline of a website by a New Zealand software developer that specialises in 3D mapping of the ocean floor. Together with sensors on the trawl... Andrew 2004-09-02T23:04:20+12:00 http://weblog.greenpeace.org/pacific/archives/001696.html (C) Greenpeace There wasn't any dancing when we arrived in Pohnpei. No signing, no feast, no speeches by government officials, but the welcome was the most heartfelt of the tour because this is the home of Hayhow and his family... Andrew via Email 2004-09-02T13:20:06+12:00 http://weblog.greenpeace.org/pacific/archives/001693.html (C) Greenpeace Although not so excessive compared to some fishing practices, bycatch (non-target species) is still a serious issue for both longlining and (especially) purse seining. For longlining, the fish caught are sometimes on the hook for hours before the... Andrew via Email 2004-08-30T22:20:08+12:00 http://weblog.greenpeace.org/pacific/archives/001692.html (C) Greenpeace The story in Pohnpei was much the same as everywhere - worries about the future of fishing. Industry representatives where especially outspoken. The first day there, James Morvick, Chair of the FSM Offshore Fishers Association, set the tone... Andrew via Email 2004-08-30T10:40:07+12:00 http://weblog.greenpeace.org/pacific/archives/001688.html (C) Greenpeace We just passed another purse seiner. It was headed north, not fishing. Here are some of the other fishing vessels and fishermen we've seen on our way to the last stop of the tour (Honiara, Solomons). From what... Andrew via Email 2004-08-27T14:20:06+12:00 http://weblog.greenpeace.org/pacific/archives/001680.html (C) Greenpeace Early this morning we came across a Fish Aggregating Device (FAD), without any markers or radio beacons. Judging from the barnacles, Roger guesses it has been floating around for about three months. Not a very glamorous thing to... Andrew via Email 2004-08-24T22:40:06+12:00 http://weblog.greenpeace.org/pacific/archives/001676.html (C) Greenpeace Went out to document another purse seiner at work this morning. Each crew we've watched so far has it's own way of doing things. This one worked very quickly to bring in their net. To our surprise, when... Andrew via Email 2004-08-23T13:40:18+12:00 http://weblog.greenpeace.org/pacific/archives/001674.html (C) Greenpeace We were sitting in our boat, watching a very efficient fishing operation. The purse seine net was in the water, the buoys kept tight and the mouth of the net open by skiffs (small boats) while 12 men... Andrew via Email 2004-08-21T22:40:06+12:00 http://weblog.greenpeace.org/pacific/archives/001669.html (C) Greenpeace In the past two days we've meandered along an 80-mile (129km) stretch of ocean. Along our way, we've seen eight purse seiners like our friend pictured here with the tree (which I'll explain in a sec). These can... Andrew via Email 2004-08-20T15:00:07+12:00 http://weblog.greenpeace.org/pacific/archives/001663.html (C) Greenpeace Nine PM, yesterday evening, we discovered a large ship 14 nautical miles to the southwest. A quick conference on the bridge and a decision was made to change course and investigate. As we steamed into a head-swell, the... Andrew via Email 2004-08-19T13:00:06+12:00