Greenpeace : In Their Own Words

What They Tell You About:

Science

Science In October 2008, Greenpeace issued an urgent press release touting news that stocks of Alaska Pollock, generally known to be one of the best managed fisheries in the world, had shrunk by 50 percent and were on the brink of collapse, an alarming statistic that the organization attributed to overfishing.

Science

What They're Not Telling You

The Greenpeace report is either symptomatic of a lack of fundamental fisheries management knowledge or a gross manipulation of the the National Marine Fisheries Service's stock survey. A complete analysis later revealed that, due to lower water temperatures, the bulk of the stock were simply driven to a lower ocean depth, a common phenomenon in recent years.

Ignoring the science, the group then tried to raise money off the fictional collapse, despite the fact that government scientists said the stock survey results were "remarkably close to expectations." When asked if there was any evidence of overfishing of Alaska pollock, a government scientist replied, "not by any measure for this upcoming season."

The Tough Questions:
Who is holding Greenpeace accountable for obvious and fundamental errors in their science? Are Greenpeace's public information campaigns based on reliable analysis, or are they simply designed to scare the public into making donations?