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LEGAL MOVES FAIL TO HALT THIRD DAY OF ACTION AGAINST DESTRUCTIVE FISHING PRACTICES
AMSTERDAM, 6 March 1997
Fifteen fishing companies have failed in their legal attempt to force Greenpeace to halt its dramatic actions against beam trawlers which use chains to plough up the seabed in the North Sea.
Fishermen from the Netherlands and Germany had asked a court in Amsterdam to impose fines of five million Dutch guilders if Greenpeace comes closer than 500 metres to the trawlerboats.
Instead, the Court has issued an injunction calling on Greenpeace not to place ropes or other material in the sea in a manner which would interfere with the rear action of the fishing boats. There are no restrictions on approaching the boats themselves, or on other types of peaceful protest.
"We welcome this decision by the Court," said Greenpeace campaigner Just van den Broek. "It means Greenpeace can continue its peaceful protests against destructive fishing practices in the North Sea."
This morning, off the German coastline, Greenpeace activists climbed onto the beams of the trawlers in an attempt to prevent further destructive fishing. The boats retaliated by lowering the beams into the water, submerging the climbers, and rolling the trawlers from side to side. The activists were thrown off but climbed back on.
For three days now, Greenpeace has been trying to persuade the fishermen to stop using this method of fishing. They responded by throwing discarded fish and wooden blocks at the activists.
Four years ago government scientists cited beam trawling using chains as the major cause of seabed destruction, concluding that "proposals should be developed to reduce the negative effect of beam trawling. Since then, nothing has been done.
Greenpeace is calling on next week's Intermediate Ministerial Meeting (IMM) in Bergen, Norway, to take concrete measures to save North Sea fisheries, including the phasing out of the beam trawler chains responsible for sea bed habitat destruction.
For details of photographs and footage of the action contact:
Anke Scheibe (footage) on +31 20 524 9543, Steve Morgan (photos) +31 20 524 9514For further information contact:
Peter Pueschel, Greenpeace Campaigner on board the MV Greenpeace tel: +49 172 381 8145
James Gillies, Press Officer, Greenpeace International, Amsterdam tel: +31 20 524 9548.