Home | Friday 2nd July 2010 | Issue 729
FIN TUNED TACTICS
Bluefin tuna must be heartened to know that there are at least some out there willing to prevent their ending up on an expensive sushi platter in the short term, and extinction of their species in the long run.
800 endangered bluefin tuna were released from fishing nets by Sea Shepherd anti-poaching activists (SchNEWS 713) off the coast of Libya. The action was carried out as part of Operation Blue Rage, targetting the illegal overfishing of bluefish tuna. The fish are being pushed out of existence as a sushi delicacy popular in Japan.
The Sea Shepherd’s vessel, the Steve Irwin, has been patrolling the Med during summer 2010 to monitor fishing of the species. The fishing of the bluefin tuna is supposedly monitored by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna, yet evidence suggests that their quota of 13,500 tons a year is exceeded to the tune of tens of thousands of tons and there is little enforcement.
Activists on the Steve Irwin approached the Italian trawler Cesare Rustico in the afternoon of June 17th, but when confronted, the crew insisted that the haul did not exceed any quotas, and that the nets contained fish caught by other vessels. These excuses evaporated when activists inspected the nets. A five person crew then took the risky decision to dive down to the cage and succeeded in releasing the lucky 700-800 fish.
Its not all plain sailing, however. Two days later, the Steve Irwin was attacked in Libyan waters while attempting to inspect the contents of the second of the Cesare Rustico’s nets. The Cesare Rustico was supported by three other vessels, which fired a barrage of flares at the deck and wheelhouse of the Steve Irwin. The activists were forced to retreat to safety, yet, demonstrating true Sea Shepherd resilience, the mission now continues the search for bluefin poachers in the waters of Cyprus and Turkey.
