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Mauritius: Indian Ocean haven for pirate fishing vessels
Contents Pirate Fishing and the Southern Ocean The emergence of the toothfish fishery Mauritius: still harbouring pirates Pirate Fishing: global problem Mauritius: Also, check out our Pirates Gallery to see Greenpeace's list of recent activity in Mauritius |
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The emergence of the toothfish fisheryIn the mid 1980s, overfishing forced dozens of Spanish, South Korean and Japanese industrial fishing vessels out of their national waters. They moved to Chilean waters where they caught fish such as Austral Hake and Golden Kingclip. By the early 1990s overfishing caused the collapse of these fisheries. These industrial fishing fleets then targeted Patagonian toothfish. By 1994 fishing for Patagonian toothfish spread to the South Atlantic, including the coast of Argentina and the subantarctic island of South Georgia. Illegal or pirate fishing for toothfish followed on the coat tails of the legal fishery. As the population of Patagonian toothfish in these waters became depleted the illegal fishers moved eastwards. By 1996 and 1997 they had spread to the southern Indian Ocean. By 1998, the stocks around Prince Edward and Marion Islands had been overfished to the point of commercial extinction. The pirates continue to poach thousands of tonnes of Patagonian toothfish around subantarctic islands belonging to South Africa, France and Australia. In these remote waters, pirate companies, their skippers and fishing masters are willing to risk arrest and large fines to illegally hunt for toothfish because of the high prices it fetches in Japanese, US and European markets. The total illegal catch of Patagonian toothfish in 1997 was around 100,000 tonnes with a value of over US$500 million. The main importers of Patagonian toothfish are Japan and the USA, where they can fetch up to US$1000 each. By 1999, CCAMLR estimated that in most areas 30-100% of the toothfish catch was being taken by pirate longliners. |
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International Office Address: © Greenpeace International |
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