GP Goes Into Action as Fate of Species is Decided

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RAINBOW WARRIOR GOES INTO ACTION AS FATE OF A SPECIES IS DECIDED

19 January, 1998 -- The fate of a species so relentlessly
overfished  that it has been officially designated "critically
endangered" and  may disappear in under 25 years time --could be
sealed at a crucial  meeting beginning today.

The southern bluefin tuna, which  can live up to 40 years, weigh
as much as 200 kilograms and grow to two metres in length, is
being driven to the brink of extinction in the southern oceans.
The species migrates across the oceans of much of the southern
hemisphere off South America, Southern Africa, South East Asia
and Australasia.

As sashimi, southern bluefin fetches high prices on the Japanese
market, where over 90 per cent of the fish are ultimately sold.
Its numbers have crashed to betweeen two and five per cent of
its original population levels in just 40 years. Figures from
Australian government scientists predict that if increases in
fishing quotas continue, there is a high probability that the
southern bluefin may be extinct by the year 2020.

In 1996, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature
(IUCN) listed the species as "critically endangered", putting it
on its Red List of endangered species -- alongside the Black
Rhinoceros and Mountain Gorrilla. Greenpeace has called for a
suspension of the fishery until the population recovers to a
biologically safe level.

The Greenpeace ship,  Rainbow Warrior, is currently off the
South Australian coast, documenting one of the fisheries
responsible for the tuna's dramatic decline. Although Greenpeace
has only been filming, tuna boat owners have already threatened
legal action.

As the Rainbow Warrior continues its campaign to save the fish,
three of the key governments responsible for the southern
bluefin fishery --Australia, Japan and New Zealand -- are
meeting in Canberra, Australia today to discuss their quotas for
the coming year. The meeting, of the Convention for the
Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT), was originally
scheduled for October last year but was postponed when the
participating countries failed to reach agreement.

The CCSBT is the body charged with managing the southern bluefin
fishery. Greenpeace has applied twice for independent observer
status at the CCSBT. Both applications were rejected.

"This is make or break time for this species," said Greenpeace
Oceans Director Matthew Gianni. "These governments have got to
recognize the future of southern bluefin is on the line. It is
their clear reponsibility to call a halt an immediate halt to
the destructive fishing practices which are driving this species
inexorably towards extinction."


ends

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