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Marine reserves

Humpback whale breaching (Megaptera novaeangliae), Au Au Channel, Lanai, Hawaii (Pacific).

Humpback whale breaching (Megaptera novaeangliae), Au Au Channel, Lanai, Hawaii (Pacific).

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A growing body of scientific evidence that demonstrates what we at Greenpeace have been saying for a long time: that the establishment of large-scale networks of marine reserves, urgently needed to protect marine species and their habitats, could be key to reversing global fisheries decline.

Marine reserves can benefit adjacent fisheries from both the 'spillover' of adult and juvenile fish beyond the reserve boundaries and through the export of eggs and larvae. Inside the reserves, populations increase in size and individuals live longer, grow larger and develop increased reproductive potential.

Marine reserves could even benefit highly migratory species, such as sharks, tuna and billfish, if reserves were created in places where they are currently highly vulnerable, such as nursery grounds, spawning sites or aggregation sites such as seamounts.

Large-scale marine reserves are areas that are closed to all extractive uses, such as fishing and mining, as well as disposal activities. Within these areas there may be core zones where no human activities are allowed, for instance areas that act as scientific reference areas or areas where there are particularly sensitive habitats or species.

Some areas within the coastal zone may be opened to small-scale, non-destructive fisheries providing that these are sustainable, within ecological limits, and have been decided upon with the full participation of affected local communities.

Marine reserves are not just about overfishing -even if one of the primary reasons for creating marine reserves is preserving fish stocks. They are increasingly seen as an essential global tool to protect the marine environment, including from pollution -caused particularly by the disposal of wastes (radioactive wastes, munitions and carbon dioxide).





Marine reserves news

Tuna Can from John West. Enlarge Image

Thousands of sharks and turtles wiped out for tinned tuna

John West, the UK’s largest seller of tinned tuna, has been ranked bottom of an environmentally-friendly tinned tuna league table published by Greenpeace today, due to the use of destructive fishing methods used to catch its tuna. New research shows that John West tinned tuna is often caught using ‘fish aggregation devices’, or FADs, responsible for wiping out thousands of sharks and turtles every year – including some rare and threatened species.

A team from the Greenpeace ship MV Esperanza documents catch being landed on board a Spanish flagged bottom-trawler, the Ivan Nores, in the Hatton Bank area of the North Atlantic, 410 miles north-west of Ireland. Bottom-trawling boats, the majority from EU countries, drag fishing gear weighing several tonnes across the sea bed, destroying marine wildlife and devastating life on underwater mountains – or seamounts. Enlarge Image

Boulders against bottom trawling

The fishing industry seems determined to catch every last fish in the North Sea. The governments of the region and the EU have done little to stop them, but they may soon hit a few snags: a team from Greenpeace Germany and Greenpeace Netherlands has sailed into the German North Sea and begun placing 150 granite rocks on the seabed. They are hoping that the rocks, each weighing 2-3 tonnes and measuring one square cubic metre, will prevent fishing boats from bottom trawling on the Sylt Outer Reef. This highly destructive fishing method involves a net being dragged across the seabed indiscriminately catching everything in its path.

The pirate fishing vessel, Luna Rossa, cut off its illegal driftnet and fled from the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise. Enlarge Image

Mediterranean pirates busted by Greenpeace

Activists aboard our ship Arctic Sunrise confronted an illegal vessel, the Luna Rossa, fishing with a driftnet this morning in international waters west of Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea. The Luna Rossa’s crew immediately cut the net and fled from our ship at high speed.

Cod in a fish market. Cod is seriously overfished in many parts of the world. Enlarge Image

In the Red - fish that are best left in the ocean

Far too often, we're left without answers when we're trying to find out if seafood on our supermarket shelves is sustainable -until recently it's been almost impossible to know. Now we are providing an international red list of fish that both consumers and retailers should avoid.

Underwater banner reading "Marine Reserves Now!" next to octopus in Menorca, Spain. Greenpeace is calling for a global network of marine reserves covering 40% of the Mediterrenean Sea. Enlarge Image

It's beginning to look a lot like World Oceans Day

It's that time of year again. People worldwide are scurrying about making last minute preparations for World Oceans Day on Sunday -- trimming the coral and hanging out their scuba socks. Father Neptune is checking his list of good children who have only eaten pole-caught sustainable fish all year, and hitching up his conch shell chariot's team of eight tiny seahorses. And we at Greenpeace are doing our part with ships in the Pacific Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, activists on land pressuring seafood suppliers and retailers to go sustainable, and, in the sky, Google Earth giving people a birds' eye view of the solution to saving our seas: a global network of marine reserves.

The Arctic Sunrise being pursued by Turkish purse seiner fishing vessels. Crew aboard threw lead weights, rammed the Greenpeace vessel midships, and smashed the windshield of the helicopter. Enlarge Image

Greenpeace vessel attacked

Three Turkish tuna fishing vessels surrounded the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise in the Cypriot Channel, with crew from one vessel attacking the ship with lead weights. Greenpeace is in the area to call for an end to unsustainable fishing and to call for the establishment of a marine reserve between Cyprus and Turkey.

The most devastatingly efficient tuna fishing vessel in the world. Enlarge Image

World's largest tuna destroyer

We chased it for 5 days, but as dawn broke over the Pacific this morning we finally confronted the biggest tuna fishing vessel in the world. The Spanish-owned and flagged tuna purse seiner "Albatun Tres" is known as a 'super, super seiner' and can net 3,000 tonnes of tuna in a single fishing trip. This is almost double the entire annual catch of some Pacific island countries.

For many pacific island countries, no tuna means no future. Enlarge Image

Pacific islands act to save tuna

Finally, some good news for tuna stocks and a first step towards protecting the Pacific Commons for future generations! Eight Pacific island countries have taken the most significant action ever to combat overfishing in the region.

Greenpeace activists from Fiji and Papua New Guinea stand on juvenile yellowfin and skipjack tuna in the hold of a vessel that was caught offloading fish from purse seiners in the Pacific Commons. Enlarge Image

Pirate of the Pacific busted by Greenpeace

We caught an illegal tuna purse seiner (Queen Evelyn 168) in the Pacific Commons on Friday. This Philippines-flagged vessel was close to the transfer of tuna between her sister vessel and a refrigerated mothership. It was likely that transfer of fish at sea, involving this illegal vessel, was about to occur. But upon our arrival the vessels immediately separated and fled.

Mediterranean Sea, Arctic Sunrise - crew of the Arctic Sunrise confiscate a length of illegal driftnet from the Italian fishing vessel Diomede II, fishing off the coast of Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea. Greenpeace has called on the Italian coastguard to confiscate the remaining net and seize the vessel's catch. The Arctic Sunrise is currently in the Mediterranean as part of a three-month ship tour, tackling threats to the sea and promoting marine reserves to protect the health and productivity of the Mediterranean. Enlarge Image

Fishing out the Pirates of the Mediterranean updated

Just a few days into our three-month “Defending Our Mediterranean” tour, and already the Arctic Sunrise has come face-to-face with pirates. In the early hours of the morning, we confiscated almost two kilometres of illegal driftnet, containing dead, undersized bluefin tuna - and a small sea turtle.

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