01/03/2006 - Capetown,
South Africa — Armed and masked, scouring
the oceans, stealing food from hungry families
– modern day pirates are a far cry from
the glamour of Hollywood movies. But they
are a multi billion-dollar reality for many
communities that can least afford to be
robbed. The Esperanza sets out to foil the
pirates.
After spending 70 days at sea confronting
the whaling fleets in the Southern Ocean,
the Esperanza is setting sail for the Atlantic
– this time to expose the modern day pirates
who steal fish from the poorest nations
and leave a trail of environmental destruction
in their wake. Stolen fish, stolen futures
Could that fish on your dinner plate be
stolen? On this next leg of our year-long
expedition, we are working with the Environmental
Justice Foundation. Together we are are
demanding that governments close ports to
ban pirates, deny them access to markets
and prosecute the companies supporting them.
In the Atlantic Ocean alone, pirate vessels
cash in on the lucrative market for tuna,
taking thousands of tons of fish, in complete
contravention of international regulations.
The fish are then transferred to refrigerated
cargo ships, known as reefers, “laundered”
through legal ports and sold on into the
market. And it’s not just tuna – the problem
is in every ocean and with almost every
type of fish.
Behind the mask
You can always spot the swashbuckling pirates
of old movies and children’s books – they
fly the black "skull and crossbones"
flag from their mast. But these days, pirates
might fly no flag at all, and even if they
do, it is quite possibly bought over the
internet for as little as US$500. These
flags represent countries which don’t investigate
the manner or scale of pirate fishing –
or the working conditions of the people
on board.
A hidden crime
The impact on fish stocks is matched by
the devastation of other marine life. Reeling
out lines sometimes 100 km long with tens
of thousands of baited hooks, the pirates
also snare thousands of turtles, hundreds
of thousands of seabirds and even more sharks
– many of which are de-finned and thrown
back into the sea to die a cruel death.
A little less conversation, a little more
action
Five years ago governments agreed an International
Plan of Action on pirate fishing – but it
seems not much has changed. The Esperanza
sails to the Atlantic just days before the
heroically-named High Seas Task Force meets
to announce how it plans to further discuss
the problem of pirate fishing. We plan to
show them just how urgent the need for action
is, and how much we need a task force defending
our oceans.
