Sea Shepherd pursue tuna seiners in Libyan waters

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society said its flagship vessel Steve Irwin spotted five French vessels leaving Malta at high speed, bound for Libyan waters.

One of the vessels, the Sainte Sophie Francois 2, does not have a bluefin tuna quota for the 2011 season and is not allowed to take part in any such fishing operation, the organisation said.

The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT) confirms that Sainte Sophie Francois 2 recently departed from Malta and has no legal right to be carrying nets this year.

“Approximately one hour after leaving Malta, the four purse seiners with a quota turned off their Automatic Identification System (AIS) even though this prohibited and they disappeared off the radar. The Steve Irwin dispatched its helicopter to fly over the area and spotted the Sainte Sophie Francois 2. No sooner did the helicopter fly over, the vessel turned off its AIS, changed course and started to head towards Tunisian waters,” Sea Shepherd said.

The other four vessels were the Jean Marie Christian 6, Jean Marie Christian 7, Sainte Sophie 3 and Cisberlande 5. All have been allocated bluefin tuna quotas this year but their whereabouts are unknown at this point. The Brigitte Bardot is deep inside Libyan waters searching for poaching operations.

Captain Lockhart Maclean reports that the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is in contact with NATO forces regarding our movements and reporting to both ICCAT and the European Union Fishing Commission.

Operation Blue Rage, Sea Shepherd’s bluefin tuna defense campaign, kicked off last week with the departure of two of their ships from the port of Toulon, France. The Dutch flagged Steve Irwin and the Australian flagged Brigitte Bardot departed from the port of Toulon bound for Libya. Sea Shepherd’s mission is to search out and intercept bluefin tuna poaching operations of vessels taking advantage of the war to illegally catch this highly endangered fish.

Forty-six volunteer crewmembers make up the Sea Shepherd crew, including 18 women and 28 men, all of whom are prepared to undertake action despite the risks of confronting poachers in hostile Libyan waters.

Captain Paul Watson will take direct command of the campaign when he returns to the Steve Irwin on June 8. “Our mission is simple. Any tuna fishing vessel we find off the Libyan coast will be operating illegally. We will cut their nets, free the fish, and document and report their operations to ICCAT and the European Union,” Watson said.

“I am constantly asked if this is a dangerous operation. Of course it’s a dangerous mission, that’s why were the only group going into this warzone. We go where no one else dares to go and we do what no one else has the guts to do – uphold international conservation law.”

During the inaugural Operation Blue Rage campaign in June of 2010, the Steve Irwin intercepted a tuna poaching operation off the Libyan coast. Sea Shepherd cut the nets and freed more than 800 bluefin tuna.

“We suspect that it will be a much easier task this year,” said Captain MacLean. “Every fishing boat in this area is a target for intervention and we have no need to worry about Libyan planes or naval vessels. We will keep NATO forces aware of our activities and we will report our operations to the appropriate European Union officials. We can’t allow the poachers to profit from the war by taking these magnificent endangered fish.”

Last year Sea Shepherd’s Steve Irwin was rammed by a Maltese fishery vessel Rosaria Tuna – photos released by Greenpeace, also on a similar mission depicted fishermen trying to violently gaff its crewmembers with a hooked pole.

Sea Shepherd’s action resulted in the freeing of 700-800 bluefinwhich it said were mostly juveniles and that the fish had been caught after the official closure of the season. It also claimed the fish it freed exceeded the quota. “Sea Shepherd holds the position that this operation by these two vessels was illegal,” said Captain Paul Watson, in his blog this morning.