The Greenpeace flagship Rainbow Warrior set sail on Sunday 16 May, 2010, on a campaign to block bluefin tuna fishing operations in the Mediterranean.
Greenpeace is calling for the immediate closure of the Mediterranean bluefin fishery, by setting bluefin fishing quotas to zero until the species can be shown to have recovered.
It is also demanding that oceans governance, including for the Mediterranean, be reformed to include a fully protected network of marine reserves.
Scientists have warned of the imminent collapse of the bluefin tuna fishery if the species are not allowed time to recover.
But the governments who gathered at the meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in March failed to approve a ban on the Atlantic bluefin trade.
Oliver Knowles, Greenpeace International oceans campaigner, said: “Others have failed our oceans, so Greenpeace will act. The Rainbow Warrior is now heading to sea to take action against one of the most irresponsible and destructive fishing operations in the world, to demand that the Mediterranean bluefin fishery be closed immediately.
“We will enforce the repeated recommendations of scientists. If we want bluefin tuna and healthy oceans tomorrow, we need marine reserves today.”
The tuna fishery is open for one month, between 15 May and 15 June.
Last week Greenpeace activists delayed the departure of three bluefin tuna fishing vessels from the port of Frontignan, France. Greenpeace claimed the vessels were among those with the highest quotas in the French bluefin tuna fishing fleet.
