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The Science Longline Fishing Campaign Report Ship Log & Webcast Last Year |
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The M/V Arctic Sunrise arrived in Port Louis, Mauritius on 3 April 2000, fresh from its pirate fishing expedition to the Southern Ocean. Port Louis is the number 1 port of call for fishing vessels seeking to land Patagonian Toothfish caught illegally in the Southern Ocean. At sea, Greenpeace uncovered evidence of continued pirate fishing in the waters regulated by the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR). While in Mauritius, the Arctic Sunrise will urge the government to close its port to pirate vessels. Panamanian Pirate Released from French Detention Goes FishingAll times are local to the M/V Arctic Sunrise which is roughly four hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time. Latest News 9 AprilAn infamous pirate, the Panama-flagged "Camouco" took on new longlines, hooks, weights and bait last week and left Port Louis, Mauritius. The ship had arrived in Mauritius just ahead of the Arctic Sunrise and fresh from French detention in Reunion. French authorities arrested the Camouco while it was fishing illegally in the French EEZ around the subantarctic island of Crozet. Its Spanish owners -- "Pesquera Mellon" and "Iminal Armadores" - convinced its flag of convenience registry State of Panama to take France to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) earlier this year. Their aim was to lower the bond set for the vessel's release and to allow the captain to leave French territory. They were successful in both. Subsequently, it appears that the Camouco is now going fishing again. 5 April - Greenpeace Catches Pirates Red HandedThe crew of the M/V Arctic Sunrise exposed today the well-known pirate fishing vessel, the Rita, unloading 90 tons of toothfish in Port Louis, Mauritius. Five Greenpeace activists displayed a banner reading "Stop Illegal Fishing" on the wharf where the Rita was landing its catch. You'll find more more information about the activities of the Belize-flagged Rita in our Pirate Gallery, the latest press release in the media centre, and fresh photos from the M/V Arctic Sunrise in the gallery as soon as they are available. 4 April
3 April - Greenpeace arrives in pirate port Mauritius16:00 The Arctic Sunrise crew have turned the many fishing buoys they found abandoned in pirate fishing hotspots in the Southern Ocean into a banner carrying the message: "Stop illegal fishing". The many kilometres of confiscated pirate longline retreived from the ocean floor are also on display. Greenpeace is calling on Mauritius to close its ports to pirate fishing vessels. Mauritius is a major trans-shipment point of illegally-caught toothfish to markets around the world. Shipments of the fish from this country go to Chile, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan and the USA. This is the Arctic Sunrise's second visit to the Indian Ocean country. Greenpeace demonstrated last year that while the pirate vessels landing this fish here claim their catches are "legal", the Mauritian authorities have no way of knowing if this is true. As many of the vessels have a history of illegal fishing or have been seen in the remote toothfish hot spots, Greenpeace believes Mauritius has every reason to doubt these claims are true. 20 March - Greenpeace confiscates pirate fishing gear14:30 Worsening weather has forced the M/V Arctic Sunrise to cut the longline they have been hauling aboard since early this morning. The crew returned 58 live toothfish to the ocean after carefully removing the hooks. Two additional toothfish were found dead along the 5 kilometers of line Greenpeace confiscated today. The toothfish were small with an average length of 75 cm to one meter and weighing an average of 12 kilograms. Four rays were also caught on the longline as bycatch. To date, Greenpeace has confiscated a total of 12 kilometers of longline set by vessels fishing illegally in the Indian Ocean sector of the Southern Ocean. Chronology of the Action10:15 The M/V Arctic Sunrise has been hauling longline fishing gear left abandoned by a pirate fishing vessel. The crew has documented 12 toothfish on the line so far and are unable at this point to estimate the length of the line which was set in waters 1500 meters deep. 07:15 The crew of the M/V Sunrise have discovered the buoys of an unattended longline system. Visit the Campaign Report to learn about Greenpeace's efforts to document and halt pirate fishing in the Southern Ocean. |
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International Office Address: © Greenpeace International |
