More from Liz onboard the Rainbow Warrior as the crew monitor the overfishing of bluefin tuna in the seas around Malta.
Life has calmed down a bit since Emma was attacked just over a week ago. I can't believe it's been more than a week already, time has flown by. We were attempting to board a tuna vessel in Malta to carry out an inspection when Emma was beaten in the face and neck by Massimo Cappitta, director of Mare Blu Tuna Farm.
It was a pretty horrible day. I have never witnessed violence like that before. Emma, as strong a woman though she is, looked so small pinned under the arms of Cappitta. The rest of the day was spent waiting to give witness statements in the local police station and taking Emma to a medical centre.
News of our attempted inspection and the aggression we encountered spread far and in the days following we received many emails, blog comments and phone calls of support. Its reassuring to remember just how many people are behind what we have been trying to do. Thankfully Emma is fine now, and her bruises are fading.
On leaving Malta we had to wait for some stormy weather to pass before starting our search for illegal driftnetters in and around the Sicilian Channel. The United Nations banned "wall of death" driftnets in 1992. Stretching up to 50 miles, these floating nets would indiscriminately snare enormous amounts of marine life.
The EU banned their use in EU waters but unfortunately several countries are not respecting the ban. Italy is probably the worst offender, its driftnet fleet still operates and the government has chosen to look the other way. Driftnetters work at night during the new moon, to make it more difficult for the fish to see the nets, so this week there have been all-night rotas of people scanning the horizon from the bridge and lots of sleepy people at breakfast.
The good news is that we didn't find any! Apparently it's the first time that this has happened. Weather may have been a factor as rough seas make it difficult for them to work, and word gets around that Greenpeace are out searching, possibly keeping some pirate fishers away. But it could also be an indication that the increased controls we have fighting for are starting to take effect, for example we saw French navy ships patrolling the tuna grounds last week.
Unfortunately controlling illegal fishing won't be enough to protect the Med. Even the legal quotas being set for catches are far higher than can be sustainable. There is a lot more to be done in the push for marine reserves to remedy this.
So it has been a quiet week here, thankfully much calmer than the last one. If there are any illegal driftnetters still in the area, and we have many reports that there are, they will be operating at the next new moon. Unfortunately for them, so will we.
