UK'S LARGEST SUPERMARKET CHAIN JOINS CALL FOR MORATORIUM TO SAVE ANTARCTIC FISH AND ALBATROSS

UK'S LARGEST SUPERMARKET CHAIN JOINS CALL FOR MORATORIUM TO SAVE ANTARCTIC FISH AND ALBATROSS

1 November 1999

Hobart, Australia - Greenpeace today accused governments responsible for protecting marine life in Antarctic waters of failing to stop rampant pirate fishing for Antarctic sea bass*. Responding to the crisis, leading UK supermarket chain, Tesco, today announced it will not sell the fish and supports Greenpeace's call for a moratorium on the entire fishery. The announcement came as an international meeting on marine protection in Antarctica's Southern Ocean opens in Hobart, Australia.

"We strongly support Greenpeace's point of view on this particular issue that there should be a moratorium on Antarctic sea bass fisheries until the issue with pirating and by-catch can be resolved and controlled properly," said Martin Cooke, Tesco's Strategic, Technical and Development Manager.

Scientists predict that Antarctic sea bass could be commercially extinct within two years if pirate fishing continues. Pirate fishing is believed to have taken up to 90 per cent of all Antarctic sea bass caught in some parts of the Southern Ocean. Pirate fishers hook and drown an estimated 100,000 seabirds a year in their fishing gear -- including endangered species of albatross.

The annual meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) takes place in Hobart Australia this week and the future of the Antarctic sea bass will be the main issue on the agenda. The Tesco announcement follows similar commitments in August 1999 by two US supermarket chains -- Whole Foods and Wild Oats. According to Cooke, Tesco decided not to stock Antarctic sea bass because of the pirate fishing "gold rush" and because albatrosses are hooked and drowned in the pirates' fishing gear.

Greenpeace is calling on CCAMLR to urgently impose a moratorium on all fishing for Antarctic sea bass until pirate fishing is stopped, more is known about the fish and whether commercial fishing can be sustained, and measures are taken to make sure pirate fishing doesn't rage out of control again.

"Fish retailers are showing a greater commitment to protecting Antarctic sea bass than the governments responsible for their conservation," said Greenpeace fisheries campaigner Desley Mather. "Governments continue to stand by while the fish heads for commercial extinction. There is no longer any option but to suspend all fishing until the pirates are stopped. Anything less will be a failure by CCAMLR."

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
- Desley Mather, Fisheries Campaigner Greenpeace International ++61 413 837 135
- Denise Boyd, Fisheries Campaigner Greenpeace International ++61 413 754 910
- Rupert Posner, Press Officer, Greenpeace Australia ++61 419 179 529
- Mika Railo, Greenpeace International Press Desk ++ 31 20 5249 548

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THIS ISSUE PLEASE SEE

* The Patagonian toothfish is known by different names in market countries: Antarctic sea bass in the UK, Chilean sea bass in North America, Legine Austral in France, merluza negra in Chile, Spain and Argentina, and mero in Japan.

CCAMLR MEMBER STATES: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, European Community, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Russian Federation, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, UK, USA, Uruguay. The following are parties to the convention but not members of the Commission: Bulgaria, Canada, Finland, Greece, Netherlands and Peru.

A video news clipreel with interviews with Tesco's Martin Cooke and Whole Foods' Steve Parkes is available from Greenpeace International Press Desk.