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MANILA: International environmental organization Greenpeace on
Saturday said it spotted Filipino fishing ships engaged in illegal
transfer of tuna at the high seas in the Pacific near Papua New
Guinea.
The Greenpeace Southeast Asia office said in a
statement that its ship, the Esperanza, exposed an illegal tuna
purse seiner, Philippine-flagged Queen Evelyn 168, in a pocket of
international waters between Papua New Guinea and the Federated
States of Micronesia, on Friday.
The purse seiner was at the site of a transfer
of tuna between her sister vessel and a refrigerated mothership,
both also registered to the Philippines.
“It was likely that a transfer of fish at sea
involving an illegal vessel was about to occur, but the arrival of
Greenpeace prevented it from taking place as the vessels immediately
separated and fled,” the statement said.
“Transfers of fish at sea are well known to
facilitate pirate fishing around the world. Now, we also have proof
of this in the Pacific. It is unacceptable that this is still
allowed to continue”, the statement quoted Greenpeace Australia
Pacific campaigner Lagi Toribau on board the Esperanza as saying.
“The pockets of international waters between
Pacific island countries are especially prone to pirate activities
and should be closed down to all fishing,” he added.
The Queen Evelyn 168 is not authorized to
undertake any fishing activities in the part of the Pacific, said
the statement.
“At-sea transfers result in massive
underestimation of the Pacific tuna catch. For years tuna have
disappeared unreported on mother ships like this. The Western and
Central Pacific Fisheries Commission is supposed to protect tuna
from overfishing, but it is clearly failing to do so,” said the
statement.
It also said that the only hope for Pacific tuna
fisheries and fast-dwindling tuna stocks is the closure of the
Pacific Commons to all fishing as marine reserves, and a ban on all
transfer of fish at sea.
-- Xinhua
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