Greenpeace protests at baptism of monster trawler in Norway

Oslo/Amsterdam, October 26, 1996

 
Greenpeace activists protest against the launch of the massive supertrawler, American Monarch, at Langsten shipyard in Tomrefjord, Norway. High-speed inflatables with sirens rushed into the fjord, and activists displayed a giant banner with the words "American Monster - Plunderer of the Seas"on the dry dock.

The ship, registered for the American Seafood Company and owned by Norwegian based Resource Group International (RGI) is destined to fish in already overexploited waters off the Chilean coast.

 
Almost 100 metres long with state-of-the-art fish finding technology, the US$ 56 million American Monarch is capable of fishing and processing more fish each day than any other vessel in the world.

"This vessel is a monster capable of putting the last nail in the coffin for Chile's southern fisheries," said Greenpeace campaigner Harald Saevareid. "With seventy per cent of world fish stocks either exploited or depleted, nations with long distance fleets increasingly exploit southern ocean fishstocks, usually at huge expense of the marine environment and the local people. The American Monarchs of the world belong to history."

Of the 3.5 million fishing vessels on the world's oceans, only 38,000 are classed as "large scale". This one per cent of the fleet account for over half of the total capacity of the global fleet, as measured by gross registered tonnes.

 
RGI's intention to fish southern blue whiting and hoki (Patagonian grenadier) from Chile's waters has already prompted major protests by local smaller scale fishermen and coastal communities supported by Greenpeace Chile. Very little if any of the American Monarch's catch will reach Chilean dinner tables. Most of the catch will be sold as surimi on the lucrative Japanese market or as fish meal in northern countries.

The press release