Pacific Ocean, Kiribati —
A suspected pirate fishing boat has fled the Kiribati authorities and run to the high seas (1). The ship was boarded and inspected by crew and Kiribati fisheries officers onboard the Greenpeace ship the Esperanza, in a joint surveillance and enforcement operation.
Greenpeace are calling for all Pacific Island countries to keep an eye out for, and to investigate on sight the Dongwon 117, part of the Korean owned Dongwon Industries fleet.
The Kiribati fisheries inspectors are onboard the Esperanza working with Greenpeace, to expose the major threats of overfishing and of the pirate fishing which aggravates it in the Pacific. (2)
The Dongwon 117 has been at sea for over a year, and has consistently failed
to report to relevant authorities in this time. Not reporting means there is no way of knowing where the ship has been, nor how much of, or what it has caught. Greenpeace and the Kiribati officers boarded and inspected the Dongwon 117, late yesterday afternoon, and ordered her captain to stop fishing.
The Esperanza then stayed with the Dongwon 117 overnight until the Kiribati authorities could get their patrol boat to escort the vessel back to port for further investigation. However, this morning, after hauling in its fishing lines, the Dongwon 117 made a break for the high seas, Greenpeace launched a helicopter and the authorities again ordered the vessel to stop but it started steaming off at high speed.
"What greater proof do we need that this boat is extremely dodgy? Such blatant disregard for the Kiribati enforcement is typical of illegal fishing, which robs from our oceans, and from our people," said Lagi Toribau, chief Greenpeace oceans campaigner onboard the Esperanza.
"We are calling for all Pacific Countries to be on high alert for this suspected pirate. The Kiribati authorities have to cover an area of over 3 million square miles, with just one small patrol boat. Foreign fishing nations such as Korea take total advantage of this severe lack of resources. Korea consumes massive amounts of the endangered Yellowfin and Bigeye fresh tuna, and consumers worldwide do not know that the fish on their plates may be stolen.
Globally pirates steal up to USD $9 billion worth of fish a year. In the Pacific they take up to 4 times what the region earns in license fees.
"If Korea and other nations want to fish in our waters then they must regulate their boats properly, pay a fairer price for their licences, and provide greater support for enforcement in the region. The Dongwon Industries fleet has a very murky history of illegal fishing and it is up to the Korean government to control its fleet."
Korea is a member of the regional Tuna Commission, (Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission). As such, Greenpeace is calling on the Commission and the Korean government to immediately remove the Dongwon 117 from their registers and to take serious action against other licensed boats found acting illegally.
Greenpeace is an independent, campaigning organisation, which uses non-violent, creative confrontation to expose global environmental problems and to force solutions essential to a green and peaceful future.
Notes to Editor
1. The High Seas is an area outside of a country's exclusive economic zone - typically 200 nautical miles from a nation's coast. There is no freedom of the high seas in the Pacific.
2. Greenpeace is in the Pacific as part of the "Defending our Oceans" 15 month global expedition highlighting the beauty of and the environmental threats to the world's oceans, and calling for 40% of the world's oceans to
be made into marine reserves.
Media briefings available to download:
"Stolen Fish, Stolen Futures"
http://oceans.greenpeace.org/en/documents-reports/pacific-tuna-stolen-fish-s
"Pirates of the Pacific"
http://oceans.greenpeace.org/en/documents-reports/pirates-of-the-pacific
3. Greenpeace have been in the Pacific since September 2006. From September 4th to 25th working with FSM authorities, and with Kiribati from 25th September to date.
4. The last known port the Dongwon117 was in Busan, Korea 2nd October 2005. Dongwon Industries of South Korea is one of the world's largest and most successful fishing companies. Their boats have been sighted acting illegally
numerous times in the Eastern Pacific.
Further contact information for
reporters to get video, photos or report details
Jo Kuper, Greenpeace International Communications (onboard the Esperanza) +47 514 079 86 Josephine Prasad, Greenpeace Pacific Communications (in Fiji) + 67 99 22 098
For images and video footage please contact Michelle Thomas - Greenpeace Australia Pacific +61 404 096 556
