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The Science
Patagonian toothfish are not the only species being decimated by pirate
fishing vessels. The science team on board the Arctic Sunrise documents
the impact pirate fishing has on a wide array of bird
species in the Southern Ocean.Don't forget to feast your eyes on our
Bird of the Week!
Longline Fishing
What is longline fishing and why is it so detrimental to a variety of wildlife?
Campaign Report
Track the progress of our campaign by checking out these periodic reports from Greenpeace's onboard campaign team.
Ship Log & Webcast
What's daily life like on a Greenpeace ship? How does the crew prepare
for these dramactic actions? And just what is a bosun anyway? Get first
hand accounts from our crew.
Last Year
In 1999 Greenpeace embarked on an expedition to expose pirate fishing
in the Southern Ocean and caught the notorious, Spanish-owned pirate vessel
Salvora illegally fishing in the French waters around Kerguelen Island.
Here's an overview of that campaign...
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Ship Log: High Seas
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The M/V Arctic Sunrise photographed from the ship helicopter as
it searches for evidence of pirate fishing in the Southern Ocean.
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the Arctic Sunrise
19 February - 25 February
19 February, Saturday:
I painted the undercoat on more tools and wore a filter mask for health
reasons.They prevent inhalation of noxious gases. The humidity really
builds up, so I now have a throbbing great abssess in the corner of my
lips. Another useful feature is they obscure one's vision. This, combined
with a rolling deck (40 degrees or so), tends to lead to paint getting
in all sorts of unpredictable places - eyes, ears, hair, occaisionally
even on that which one is intending to paint!
In the afternoon they unscrewed the bolts on the hold and I was able
to get what seemed like my first glimpse of daylight for nearly a week.
What a pleasure to breath the fresh Southern Ocean air as opposed to the
combination of paint fumes, welding gases, and miscellaneous crew scents.
Antarctic Skua, White-Chinned Petrel, Silvain's Prion, Soft-Plummaged
Petrel, Wandering, Grey-Headed and Black-Brown Albatrosses...
20 February, Sunday
A "day of rest" although many still have some chores. For me
it is mess duty. The banana crisis has deepened. We must eat as many of
the damn things as possible before they all rot. Banana smoothies all
around!
Meanwhile beyond the confines of the ship the sea-birds soar serenely.
Wandering, Grey-Headed and Black-Browed Albatrosses, White-Chinned and
Soft-Plummaged Petrels all sighted. We also sighted Southern & Northern
Royal Albatross & Wilson's Storm Petrel (said by some to be the most common
bird in the world and yet few people have seen it).
Unfortunately we also caught sight of a yellow plastic "shampoo"
type bottle. A Wandering Albatross also spied the floating debris and
mistook it for something edible. The bird eventually gave up, but had
the bottle been a little smaller it would almost certainly have swallowed
it and subsequently choked to death. One can only wonder how many sea-birds
do infact die this way, their gullets completly blocked by humanity's
careless cast-offs?
The sea continues to get choppier. The weather is misty & overcast.
21 February, Monday:
In addition to their own special duties, all crew members also have rostered
cleaning duty. Today was my turn to clean the alleyways (passages), the
engineers workshop floors, and the laundry as well as the associated bulkheads
(that's sailor-talk for walls & ceilings). Afterwards, Deb, a more senior
deckhand, taught me the basics of rope maintainance. Essentially we work
with the ends of the ropes to prevent them from fraying and becoming useless..
22 February, Tuesday:
After a very rough night and very little sleep, I awoke totally exhausted
to face another rough day! Painting and rope maintainane continues...stowed
"Wally" [the inflatable boat] away properly. It's amazing how we can fit
such large, unwieldy objects into such tight spaces. Later I worked with
cables and learned how to make something called an 'American Eye', which
is like a lassoo. In the text-book it all looks so neat! On the work bench
you just get this contorted tangle of wires lying in a pool of blood &
perspiration...a bit like macrame with metal!!
23 February, Wednesday:
Put still more yellow paint on still more tools. How many of the things
are there on board?!@# !!!! I also cleaned up the paint locker, which
is a very small cramped space under the poop deck...much bashing of the
cranium on all sorts of sharp, metal surfaces.
The high seas have really slowed our progress. Some on board feel that
plate tectonics take place at a faster rate. Still there's always a good
forty degree roll for excitement. The sea is like one big cold water jacuzzi!
25 February, Friday:
Birds seen today were Wilson's Storm Petrel, Black-bellied Storm Petrel,
Grey-Backed Storm Petrel, Fairy Prion, Wandering and Black-Browed Albatrosses
& White-Chinned Petrels.
As expected the weather starts to get really, really rough in the evening.
I don't anticipate getting much sleep-again!
Check out more stories about life on board
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