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Breaking News from America's Progressive Community... 1999 Releases March
The press releases posted here have been provided to NewsCenter by the one of the many progressive organizations we have selected to participate. If you would like more information about this press release, you should contact the organization directly. |
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| MARCH
12, 1999 4:31 PM FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Greenpeace Denise Boyd, Greenpeace Intl, on board the Arctic Sunrise +873 130 25 77 (satphone $10 per min) Matt Gianni, Greenpeace Intl, +31 20 52 36 279 (Amsterdam) Desley Mather, Greenpeace Intl, mobile +61 413 607 794 (Sydney) Luisa Colasimone, Greenpeace Communication, +31 20 52 49 546 or mobile +31 6 53 66 29 70 (Amsterdam) |
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Greenpeace Calls On Mauritius Government To Seize Pirate Fishing Vessel |
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| INDIAN
OCEAN
- March 12 - Greenpeace called on the Mauritian Government to seize a pirate fishing vessel
which was found fishing illegally by the environmental group in the Southern
Ocean early last week, and is believed to be heading for Port Louis, Mauritius,
a known port for landings of illegal catches of toothfish.
Greenpeace, which has been tracking the Belize-flagged vessel Salvora, believes that, at its current speed, the pirate vessel could arrive in Mauritius as early as Sunday 14th March. The vessel was last seen in Mauritius in January of this year. "We caught this repeat offender red-handed in the Southern Ocean and have stayed on its tail so it cannot continue its illegal fishing", said Denise Boyd on board the Greenpeace vessel MV Arctic Sunrise. "We ask Mauritius to wash its hands of illegal fish landings once and for all by seizing this vessel and not allowing it to land its catch. If Mauritius is unwilling to assume its responsibility as a port State to investigate and take enforcement action against fish pirates, then it must at least deny this and all other pirate fishing vessels access to its ports". The Salvora was found guilty of fishing illegally and arrested by the Australian Government in October 1997, after they found it fishing for Patagonian toothfish in the Australian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) around Heard and MacDonald Islands. An Australian frigate then escorted the vessel to Fremantle, Western Australia, with 37 crew on board. The owners forfeited its bond of A$1.07 million. Last week, Greenpeace wrote to the international fisheries body responsible for the management of the Southern Ocean around Antarctica - CCAMLR - and to the governments of France, Belize and countries bordering the Southern Ocean region, calling on them to ensure immediate action is taken to end the pirate's plunder. So far no one has responded, in spite of the fact that all governments have expressed "their grave concern at the threat posed by continuing illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing for toothfish. [Governmental] Representatives pledged themselves to work to meet these new challenges and to maintain the integrity of the Antarctic Treaty system". Scientists predict that, if illegal fishing continues at the present rate, the toothfish will be commercially extinct in less than three years. In addition to toothfish, the illegal fleets are incidentally killing up to 100,000 seabirds, such as endangered albatrosses, every year ### |
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