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Greenpeace activists are on the high seas to stop the illegal plunder of fish stocks by pirate fishing vessels. See below to get a feel of the actions aimed at ending pirate fishing.
After yesterday's action around the Hau Shen 202 and further documentation of two other pirate fishing vessels, today things are quieter. Time to enjoy our makeshift swimming pool! I have to say that this is not in fact as glamorous as it may sound - we seal the pilot door and fill up the space with sea water. It's a bit dingy down there, but with a few people and a drink, it becomes a fun way to cool down. The sun hides behind the clouds for most of the day, but that's not so bad, as it's then possible to sit on the bow all afternoon. It's so pleasant that 7 hours later I'm still here. By now, a little crowd of us have gathered to take advantage of the warm trade winds and a moonlit night below the stars. A pause in the proceedings provides time for reflection and an opportunity for an update on the latest developments resulting from our actions. As you may remember, on 7 May, we documented the MV Hatsukari transhipping tuna from the Benny, a pirate fishing vessel registered on Cambodian flag and notified both vessels that they were operating in contravention of ICCAT. However, on 8 May we found Benny continuing to fish in contravention of ICCAT and we documented catch and bycatch caught on Benny's longline, part of which we confiscated. Greenpeace then contacted various relevant official bodies to notify them of these activities. See the our political section for the correspondence. On Thursday, 11th May, the Cambodian registry informed us that the MV Benny has been de-registered from Cambodian flag. This might appear to be good news, but the reality is that this vessel will most probably simply re-register on another flag of convenience, again thwarting international regulations. An essential step in preventing pirate fishing is to eliminate flags of convenience. By de-registering MV Benny, Cambodia has got rid of a problem without taking responsibility to control vessels registered on its flag. It would be far preferable for Cambodia to have taken enforcement actions and/or to have joined ICCAT.
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