Greenpeace has blasted 20 “monster boats” which it says are examples of the most destructive and oversized fishing vessels operating under European flag, ownership or management.
By definition Greenpeace said that a monster boat is defined by the destructiveness of the vessels’ fishing gear, operational characteristics of the vessels and companies concerned, the environmental and socio-economic impact of fishing activities, and/or its possible involvement in illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
The organisation is calling on governments to act now to remove monster boats from industrial fishing fleets because it says they contribute to the depletion and destruction of oceans and affect coastal fishing communities around the world.
Nina Thuellen, EU fisheries project coordinator, said: “A relatively small number of industrial fishing barons are recklessly making huge profits from our oceans. They use tricks – like changing the identity and flag of their vessels or using front companies and tax havens to increase their access to fishing grounds, or blatantly circumvent rules and regulations. Governments must stop turning a blind eye to overfishing by taking action on monster boats and support low-impact fishers instead.”
By focusing attention on some of the top culprits of global overfishing, Greenpeace said it is challenging governments to eliminate excessive fishing capacity where it matters most and give preferential access to fishing opportunities to low-impact fishers, as required under the new EU Common Fisheries Policy.
To further the cause, the organisation has launched a new petition calling on people to sign up in support of low impact fishers and help ensure fair fishing in future.
