Turkish tuna fishing vessels surrounded the Greenpeace ship "Arctic Sunrise" in the Cypriot Channel Friday morning, with crew from one vessel attacking the ship with lead weights.
Greenpeace is in the area to call for an end to unsustainable fishing and to call for the establishment of a marine reserve between Cyprus and Turkey.
The campaigners from the organisation flew over the ships early that morning to document the activities of tuna fishing vessels.
Three Turkish vessels then surrounded the Greenpeace ship - one colliding with the "Arctic Sunrise" and causing superficial damage midships on the starboard side. The tuna ship's crews then started hurling lead fishing weights of around 4cm at the Greenpeace ship. Gunfire was heard. Amazingly, no one was injured but the Greenpeace helicopter was damaged and is now inoperable.
The Greenpeace ships Captain notified the Turkish Iskenderun Port Authority and reported the damage.
"This unprovoked attack against the "Arctic Sunrise", a peaceful protest ship, endangered the safety of our crew and ship and is completely unacceptable, we urge the ships owners to instruct their crews to return to port for an immediate investigation," said Greenpeace International Oceans campaigner Karli Thomas, on board the Artic Sunrise.
"We understand that these guys are angry - we're angry too. But the real problem has been caused by the refusal of governments to take action to regulate an industry that is fishing itself to death," Said Banu Dokmecibasi, Greenpeace Mediterranean Oceans Campaigner.
Scientists from the international body which regulates tuna fishing, ICCAT, recommended a maximum sustainable catch of 15,000 tonnes of bluefin tuna, to be divided among all the countries licensed to fish in the Mediterranean. The Turkish fleet comprises more than 200 purse seiners in total, with enough catch capacity to fish the entire 15,000 tonnes. Turkey has an allocated quota of less than 900 tonnes.
Greenpeace is calling on the Turkish government to support the protection of the Cypriot Channel, one of the most productive tuna breeding areas in the Eastern Mediterranean, as a marine reserve. The Turkish government should immediately revoke all permits for domestic fleets to fish in the channel.
