Don't buy into pirate fishing! In light of the repeated failure of governments to stop the pirates, Greenpeace believes that a moratorium on all fishing for toothfish backed by an international trade ban until CCAMLR gets its house in order is the only way to stop the pirates.

Patagonian toothfish sold here in a United Kingdom supermarket as "Antarctic icefish".

If they can no longer hide their trade behind the legally-caught fish on the market then they are effectively put out of business.

Retailers begin to read the writing on the wall

On the eve of the November 1999 meeting of CCAMLR governments, the leading UK supermarket chain, Tesco, announced that it would not sell Patagonian toothfish (sold as Antarctic sea bass or Antarctic icefish in the UK) and that it supported the Greenpeace call for a moratorium on the entire fishery.

The Tesco announcement followed similar commitments by two USA supermarket chains -- Whole Foods and Wild Oats. In 1999 both companies said they would stop buying Chilean sea bass (its US market name) because of the serious environmental concerns.

Tescos' Strategic, Technical and Development Manager Martin Cooke has told Greenpeace that Tescos decided not to stock this fish because of the pirate fishing "gold rush" and because albatross is caught as bycatch in the pirates' fishing gear.

"We strongly support Greenpeace's point of view on this particular issue that there should be a moratorium on Patagonian toothfish fisheries until the issue with pirating and bycatch can be resolved and controlled properly," said Tesco's Cooke.

The USA chain Whole Foods stopped selling the fish in 1999. Whole Foods' Steve Parkes said: "There is such a high demand for it that it's got a bounty on its head. We needed to do something to help stop the massacre, or whatever you want to call it, of the species."

He urged governments to act to stop the pirates. "The governments have to take a tough stand on this issue to stop the pirates, do whatever it takes to bring this fishery under control, to a sustainable level. When that occurs perhaps we'll have the enjoyment of eating it again."

Companies like Tesco, Whole Foods and Wild Oats know that consumers would not choose to buy into pirate fishing. The retailers are leaving the governments responsible for protecting this fish far behind.

Said Cooke:
"For Tesco it makes absolute commercial sense to be aware of issues such as this. It's part not only, for many of us, of our own personal interest in the world around, but also our corporate and social responsibility."

See what you can do!

More about Pirate Fishing:

Introduction - Modern-day pirates plunder ocean life
Dodging the rules: flag of convenience fishing
Governments recognise the pirate fishing problem...will they act to stop it?
Trouble ahead for pirate fishing talks!

Pirate Fishing in the Southern Ocean:
Introduction
CCAMLR - Governments are failing the toothfish and albatross
Southern Ocean Ecosystem
Toothfish - Rapidly approaching commercial extinction
Albatross - How pirate fishing is devastating Albatross populations
Southern Ocean Expedition web site, 2000

Pirate Fishing in the Atlantic Ocean:
Atlantic - Pirate fishers plunder Atlantic tuna
Pirates Plunder the Atlantic
Eradicating Pirate Fishing: a study of the current status of tuna and tuna-like fish stocks in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean, May 2000 (pdf file, 91KB)
Atlantic Expedition web site, 2000