Eco Extremists choose stunts over substance in sustainability discussion

A US tuna boat operating legally in the Pacific Ocean was vandalized at sea as part of a dangerous and irresponsible stunt perpetrated by Greenpeace activists.

To pull along side another vessel at sea and paint slogans on its hull is the height of maritime irresponsibility and shows a complete lack of regard for safety, said John Connelly President of the National Fisheries Institute (NFI). If you want to talk about sustainability issues there are constructive ways to do it. This is not one of them.

Greenpeace says its operatives are touring the Western Pacific protesting the current state of tuna stocks and the impact of illegal and commercial fishing fleets on the region.

Randi Thomas is the Tuna Councils Vice President of Sustainability and also serves on the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), she says Greenpeaces action in the Pacific expose a lack of understanding about sustainability efforts that are already in place, The US follows the Convention on the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPFC). In fact the US was the leader in establishing the convention. To target US vessels is misguided.

The Convention is one of the first regional fisheries accords adopted since the 1995 UN Fish Stocks Agreement.

Not only does the US operate under the Convention we are also a part of the South Pacific Fisheries Treaty, said Thomas. That treaty includes very strict sustainability provisions agreed upon by the US and 16 Pacific island nations.

Dangerous stunts like this do nothing to encourage sustainability discussions. They needlessly endanger people, and in this case, have exposed Greenpeaces total disregard for the law, especially targeting a fishing vessel operating legally on the high seas, said Connelly.

For more than 60 years, the National Fisheries Institute (NFI) and its members have provided American families with the variety of sustainable seafood essential to a healthy diet. For more information visit: www.AboutSeafood.com.

Contact Information

Gavin Gibbons
(703) 752-8891