Arthur is the onboard Communication Officer for the first leg of Defending the Pacific 2011.
By Arthur Dinio, Communication Officer, Greenpeace

For a while I believed Japan is solely to blame for depleting tuna stocks. Now on my second expedition to the Pacific, I cant help but notice the fact that fishing vessels from Taiwan and Korea were the ones we’ve encountered most often.

It’s perhaps a certain fixation on Japan (and all the noise by seafood consumption there), that’s made Taiwan’s and Korea’s fishing exploits stay under the radar.

Yes, Japan still catches and consumes the vast proportion of world’s tuna but Korea and Taiwan are also right up there when it comes to fishing — both operators of deadly efficient fishing fleets plying the Pacific.

Taiwan stands out because it has the largest number of fishing vessels in the Pacific, 1,954 vessels in all, making Japan (with 1,328 vessels) look like its kid brother. These are pretty much the prime numbers for tuna overkill.

When we encountered MV Li Chyun 2, it just confirmed what we already know in this trip, that we’ve encounter more and more Taiwanese vessels along the way.

A Greenpeace activist holds up a banner on a Taiwanese longliner, Li Chyun No. 2 reading "No Fish No Future" in the Central Pacific, 21st September 2011. Photo: Paul Hilton / Greenpeace

Korea on the other hand is the new bully in town. When it comes to the sustainable management of the Western and Central Pacific tuna fishery, Korea plays a very negative role. It has a track record of strongly opposing any progressive management and conservation measures.

Song, Joon Kwon (L) and Duncan Williams (R) hold up a banner in Korean reading "Stop Pacific Ocean Plunder" as they approach Korean longliner Oryong 335. Photo: Paul Hilton / Greenpeace

As we sail along this expedition, we will continue exposing the roles of Korea and Taiwan in overfishing. Greenpeace has been asking them to support strong conservation measures in the Pacific and reduce fishing capacity by half. It is in their interest to protect tuna fisheries, afterall they both have a large industry that relies on this resource.

Check out more from the Defending the Pacific 2011 tour