BEGINS
Indian Ocean, 25 May 2016 – Activists on board the Greenpeace
ship Esperanza chased a controversial vessel at the heart of Thai Union’s supply
chain from its moorings today, in the latest in a series of global protests
against the tuna giant’s destructive fishing practices.
At 0530 local time, nine activists in inflatable boats delivered a cease
and desist letter to the deck of the Explorer II, a supply vessel habitually
mooring itself to an underwater seamount as part of a controversial practice
linked to overfishing using high-powered lights. The crew then returned to use
spray-paint to black out some of the array of lights ringing the decks.
Arifsyah Nasution, Ocean Campaigner at Greenpeace South-East Asia on board
the Esperanza, said: “We first spotted the Explorer II when we saw it glowing
from miles away at night, beaming lights directly into the water, likely
intended to attract fish for other vessels to scoop up. It’s a highly
contentious practice and it’s no surprise people are calling for a crackdown on
it. We knew we had to address it directly.”
This intervention at sea follows blockades and demonstrations around the
world against Thai Union. In the past week, activists in New Zealand blockaded a
Thai Union-supplied Whiskas facility; hundreds of people in the UK, US, France,
Italy, and Canada removed Thai Union’s tuna cans from their local supermarket
shelves; 25 activists shut down and rebranded a Thai Union processing facility
in France, and activists in Bangkok laser-projected a message to Thai Union as
the Bangkok Tuna Forum began. [1]
“Thai Union can’t escape its record of reckless fishing and links to labour
rights abuses,” said Francois Chartier, Oceans Campaigner at Greenpeace France.
“From sea to shelf, a movement of hundreds of thousands of people is coming
after them. We’re pulling their destructive fishing gear out of the water,
locking down their supply chain, and taking their tuna tins off the shelves
until they clean up their act.”
Even at a distance of some 15 nautical miles, the crew aboard the Esperanza
was able to see the glow from the lights of the Explorer II.
Nasution added: “The evidence we have gathered points to the Explorer II
likely engaging in reckless overfishing - the kind of fishing which is killing
marine life indiscriminately, that is emptying our oceans and robbing local
fishing communities of their livelihood. We couldn’t sail by and let business as
usual continue.”
The Explorer II is owned by Albacora Group, a Spanish company which
supplies tuna to Thai Union using harmful fishing gear. Greenpeace is calling on
Thai Union to implement sustainable fishing practices and worker-protection,
following revelations that Thai Union has been linked to human rights abuses in
its supply chain.
At time of release, the Esperanza was still following the Explorer II as it
headed back towards land.
ENDS
Notes to editors
The Greenpeace ship the Esperanza is in the Indian Ocean to tackle Thai
Union’s destructive fishing practices. The ship has been documenting and
extracting so-called fish aggregating devices (FADs), which contribute to
overfishing and result in indiscriminate harm to marine life.
Contacts: