Press release – 9 September, 2015Port Moresby, September 10, 2015 – As Pacific Islands Forum leaders consider a 10-year road map for a sustainable fisheries industry, the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior has uncovered a pirate fishing operation near Papua New Guinea’s waters with 75 kilograms of illegally caught shark fins — underlining the scale of the problem.Greenpeace activists boarded the Taiwanese-flagged tuna longliner, Shuen De Ching No.888, in the high seas close to Papua New Guinea yesterday, and found it had no fishing license. The
Rainbow Warrior
is still tracking the ship, which remains in the same area.
“Pacific Island leaders have already prioritised and agreed to discuss sustainable fisheries management this week in Port Moresby, which we welcome. But more needs to be done urgently to bring illegal catches under control,“ said Lagi Toribau, Greenpeace Australia Pacific Global Tuna campaigner.
"This case will be a test for our leaders as it is an illegal Taiwanese vessel caught red-handed in the high seas pocket that borders three of the Pacific’s productive fishing grounds between Federated States of Micronesia, Papua New Guinea, and Nauru.
“It shows the extent to which illegal fishing is out of control in the high seas, and that more needs to be done to help Pacific nations with enforcement,” Toribau said.
Toribau and other Greenpeace activists uncovered sacks containing 75 kilograms of shark fins on board the vessel which would have come from at least 42 shark carcasses. However, only three shark carcasses were reported in the ship’s log book. Under Taiwanese law and Pacific fishing rules, shark fins may not exceed 5 per cent of the weight of the shark catch, putting the vessel in clear violation of the laws.
Greenpeace reported the case to the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) and neighbouring Pacific Island countries.
Greenpeace also informed Taiwan’s Fishery Agency that the ship was fishing illegally, but received no response. Greenpeace activists have since learned through the WCPFC that the Taiwan Fishery Agency retrospectively rushed through the fishing authorisation paperwork for the Shuen De Ching No.888 when Greenpeace flagged its illegal activity.
Toribau said Greenpeace is documenting the case, and is demanding that Taiwanese authorities take action against the Shuen De Ching No.888.
“The Taiwanese Government must order this illegal vessel to stop fishing and return to port immediately for a full and transparent investigation. There is a Taiwanese patrol boat in the region and this is exactly the sort of illegal activity they should be tackling,” he said.
Toribau said illegal fishing operations such as this are leading to sharp declines in tuna levels.
“What we’re witnessing right now is just the tip of the iceberg. The true extent of the Pacific tuna plunder remains hidden by vessels like this one, operating hundreds of miles from shore.
“The longline industry is chronically unregulated and poorly monitored. Overfishing is the norm, and illegal fishing adds further pressure to tuna stocks that are already in trouble,” he said.
Overfishing has pushed many species into dangerous decline, impacting on Pacific Island countries that have relied on tuna for generations. In Fiji, local fishing vessels are mothballed and workers have been laid off.
Local fisheries in Samoa, Tonga and other Pacific Island nations are also suffering. Although more than 70 per cent of the world’s tuna comes from the Pacific, only 20 per cent of that is actually caught by Pacific Island fleets.
Longliners are the most prevalent type of fishing vessel operating in this part of the Pacific Ocean, and there are more than 3,500 of the vessels currently authorised to fish in the region.
“Longline fishing is well and truly out of control,” Toribau said. “Lines covered with thousands of baited hooks and up to 170 kilometres (105 miles) long are deployed by vessels. Tuna species are the target, but other ocean creatures like sharks and turtles get caught on the lines. Every year around 300,000 sea turtles and at least 160,000 sea birds die on longlines."
The problem with longline fishing is further exacerbated because these vessels are able to transship, a process where a fishing vessel transfers its catch to a massive reefer, or mothership, at sea.
Toribau said tuna fisheries are urgently in need of effective management and control, which must include an immediate ban on transshipping at sea, and the closure of the high seas pockets, known as the Pacific Commons, to all fishing.
“If fishing boats have nothing to hide they should have no problem landing or transferring their catches in port, where the fish can be accounted for properly,” he said. “Illegal behavior has been hidden out at sea for too long. It’s time for fisheries to clean up, step up and be responsible. If they don’t, there will be no tuna left.”
ENDS