It is now more than 30 days since our ship was seized and our 30 friends and colleagues were arrested. They now face a charge of piracy — an absurd charge that carries a maximum 15 year jail sentence. In the meantime pirate fishing is a real threat, recklessly plundering our oceans.
Blogpost by Duncan Williams - December 5, 2012
Philippines is a great country. "It’s more fun in the Philippines" is an aptly coined slogan for its tourism campaign. Greenpeace put that slogan to the test this morning with an impromptu activity delivering a message to delegates attending the Ninth Annual Session of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) in Manila. The Greenpeace message is simple. “Save Our Tuna, Ban the FAD”.
As a Pacific Islander onboard the Greenpeace vessel, the MY Esperanza (Spanish for Hope), I cannot help but feel that there is hope despite the plight facing our magnificent Pacific Ocean. This vast oceanscape has been the bridge connecting people of Pasifika for thousands of years.
Today, Greenpeace activists went to the Taiwan Fisheries Agency’s headquarters to demand they address the tuna overfishing crisis and be more transparent about the Agency’s budget and policy-making.
A few months ago I lived on an Australian beach with rainforest for a backyard. Why would I leave this behind to work in rainy Belgium? Because some time ago, having largely emptied their own seas, super-sized European fishing boats began plundering Pacific waters.One of the only ways to stop them is to fix the European Union’s fishing rules.
