NEW MONSTER FACTORY TRAWLER SET TO PLUNDER CHILE'S FISH

Greenpeace protests at baptism in Norway - Rainbow Warrior awaits trawler in Chile

OSLO/AMSTERDAM, OCTOBER 26TH, 1996

Greenpeace today protested against the launch of the massive supertrawler American Monarch at Langsten shipyard in Tomrefjord, Norway. As high-speed inflatables with sirens rushed into the fjord, 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.

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.

Public outrage has resulted in the Chilean Government's rejection of the American Monarch's licence to fish. While there has been no official statement on RGI's appeal against that decision, information obtained by Greenpeace Chile suggests that the government will in fact grant the license. Greenpeace believes the government intends to wait until after local elections held there this weekend, before announcing its' u-turn.

Greenpeace announced at the baptism today that its flagship Rainbow Warrior is in Chile to lead local fishermen and coastal communities in peaceful protest should the American Monarch enter the depleted Chilean fishing grounds. "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.

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Notes to Editors:

Video footage will be available through Reuters London, stills will be available through Reuters and ap.

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Harald Saevareid inTomrefjord, ++47 90 95 1947 / 92 09 85 56,

David Stenerud or Kalle Hesstvedt at Greenpeace Norway in Oslo, phone ++47 22 205 101, or

Greenpeace International press desk, Holger Roenitz 0031 20 5249 545

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