Norway acts on international fish pirate after Greenpeace alert

But our own investigation uncovered its real name had been the 'Lootus', and that until it "disappeared" from official registers, the ship had known connections to Spanish fishing company Oya Perez. Further research revealed it now appears to be connected to a Portuguese company named Silvia Vieira - a group with known links to other pirate vessels operating in the area.

"Greenpeace applauds Norway's action against this pirate vessel and calls on other states to take similar action against pirate fishing vessels that are abusing gaps in international law, stealing fish and destroying vulnerable marine habitats," says Greenpeace oceans campaigner Truls Gulowsen.

The move to act on this pirate vessel in international waters hopefully indicates that the Norwegian Government is now committed to deal effectively with pirate fishing wherever it occurs.

"In the same way that Norway has acted against this vessel in the Barents Sea, it should lead the international community in renewed action against pirate fishing vessels either fishing without flags, or using flags of convenience to exploit loopholes in international law," said Gulowsen.

It is common for fishing vessels to fly 'flags of convenience' to hide their true owners and gain access to fisheries where they have not been provided with a permit to fish. This bottom trawler was fishing with no licence in the Barents Sea "loophole" between the Norwegian and Russian Exclusive Economic Zones. Greenpeace believes this area should be set aside as an International Marine Reserve, where no vessels would be allowed to fish. This would improve abilities to enforce the area against pirate vessels such as the Joana/Lootus.

In September 2005, Greenpeace exposed the pirate vessels Kerguelen and Murtosa which were fishing illegally in the Barents Sea "loophole". Both were Togo-flagged with a Portuguese crew. The catch was later delivered to Aveiro, Portugal.

According to Greenpeace, "both enforcement actions on the high seas as well as concerted international diplomacy are required if states are serious about protecting fish stocks and marine ecosystems from overexploitation. As a first step, Norway must lead the international community in supporting an immediate United Nations moratorium on high seas bottom trawling at negotiations in New York later this year to ensure that this most destructive fishing practice is halted while measures are put in place to stop pirate fishing."

Norwegian coastguard inspectors have been onboard the Joana for 12 hours, and are still unable to verify its real identity. Greenpeace expects that the Norwegian Coastguard will bring the pirate vessel to a Norwegian port for a proper inspection and identification of its current owners, and that this will lead to legal consequences for their illegal fishing activities.