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...

This is where you can read, see, and hear the latest from the Greenpeace crew members in the Southern Ocean. Click on the icon to listen and watch Greenpeace in action. Our illustrated radio format requires a free, downloadable Realplayer from Real Audio.

Radio Log:
Greenpeace Confiscates Pirate Fishing Gear

the Arctic Sunrise
20 March

Greenpeace today unhooked and released alive almost sixty Patagonian toothfish being decimated by illegal fishing vessels in the waters around Antarctica. The fish were hooked on five kilometres of abandoned pirate fishing gear that the crew of the MV Arctic Sunrise pulled from 1500m below the surface in French territorial waters near Kerguelen Island.

The waters of the Southern Ocean, usually perceived of as a pristine marine winderness, are actually littered with debris from pirate fishing vessels. The vessels abandon these lines, sometimes stretching for several kilometers across the ocean floor, when it appears they are in risk of being apprehended by authorities.

The abandoned lines are a problem because they continue to kill fish and other animals that come to feed on the fish and seabirds originally hooked on the lines.

The crew of the Sunrise was able to find three separate sets of pirate fishing gear in the Southern Ocean during March 2000, fresh evidence that pirate fishing vessels continue to roam and plunder the Patagonian toothfish largely unabated. The crew also spotted the Grand Prince, a known pirate fishing vessel, in waters regulated by the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Living Marine Resources (CCAMLR).

Pirate fishing in the Southern Ocean is driving the toothfish, as well as many seabird species, to the brink of extinction, but Greenpeace remains determined to stop this illegal practice. Click here to watch and listen to their efforts.

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