It's official; mankind is killing off our oceans far faster than previously thought. The first global-scale study of human impacts on marine ecosystems, published today in the flagship US journal Science, reveals a picture of widespread destruction with few if any areas remaining untouched.

Another year, another botched up decision by the EU fisheries ministers. Early this morning they agreed to increase next year's quota on cod fishing in the North Sea by 11 per cent.

They've been ignoring the science for the last seven years, why should this year be any different? The EU's own scientists have said that the stocks are in such trouble that the quota must be reduced, but we knew these bureaucrats couldn't be trusted to make the right decision - that's why we attempted to shut them out of the meeting on Monday.

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Almost 200 Greenpeace volunteers shut down the EU fisheries quota meeting in Brussels

I remember when they closed the cod fisheries off the east coast of Canada. I was just finishing high school in a sleepy town in Nova Scotia. It was probably the first time an environmental disaster touched my life. You see, almost half my family are fishermen.

Even before the stocks were closed I remember my uncles talking about the dwindling fish, but rather than easing off they were hunting them down to cash in as the cost of the fish rose. I suppose it was unimaginable to them that these fish - which used to make the seas around the Grand Banks bubble - could ever disappear.
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Some bad news from our Nordic office: around 4000 tonnes of raw oil has leaked into the North Sea, in the second largest oil spill in Norwegian history.

25,000 barrels-worth of oil leaked into a key herring and mackerel ground and is now drifting northwards. The waves are too high for any oil lenses to work, and a lot of the oil's being washed underwater.

The accident happened when a pipe broke during the loading of oil from the Statfjod A platform in bad weather.

There's more on Reuters.

Follow the crew of the Arctic Sunrise on their campaign for Marine Reserves in our North Sea Tour blog

A weekend in Lerwick allowed us to bring the campaign to land, and bring people from land to the campaign. Leaving Shetland marks the end of the North Sea ship tour, but of course we'll be taking the campaign back to our various offices around the North Sea. Meanwhile, the Rainbow Warrior is in the Mediterranean continuing our European work on marine reserves.

Anemones on a sea mount - not known for their migratory habits

The weather forecast was ominous as we departed Aberdeen harbour, gales and high winds were ahead of us. But with the wind behind us, we've had a good night's sailing.

Follow the crew of the Arctic Sunrise on their campaign for Marine Reserves in our North Sea Tour blog

Since Tuesday morning, we've been docked in Aberdeen. The Arctic Sunrise is dwarfed amidst some of the other huge ships here. As we waited on the pilot to take us in, we had small groups of noisy arctic terns bouncing around the ship. Then, on our way into the harbour, just at the breakwater, we were treated to a pod of about seven bottlenose dolphins, lazily feeding (with an occasional show-off jump).

50 per cent of fresh fish sold in supermarkets comes from farms

One obvious response to the disappearance of wild fish from our seas is "Why don’t we replace them with farmed varieties. We do it with land animals, so why not fish?" Of course this is already happening – over 40 per cent of the world's fish production already comes from aquaculture, and 50 per cent of fish sold in UK supermarkets comes from farms. These pen-reared fish grow at a phenomenal rate. For example, wild cod double in size every year, but hatchery cod quadruple in the same period. Given that size determines reproductive rate, at first glance this could be a solution to repopulating wild stocks.

Follow the crew of the Arctic Sunrise on their campaign for Marine Reserves in our North Sea Tour blog

Two pair trawlers we encountered yesterday admitted they were fishing for cod and told us confusingly fishy stories. One boat said it was catching lots of big cod, while the other reckoned they'd trawled loads of young fish. Either way they shouldn't be taking any – cod stocks are now only a fraction of what they were a decade or two ago.

Follow the crew of the Arctic Sunrise on their campaign for Marine Reserves in our North Sea Tour blog

So, what is it like floating in the North Sea in the path of a fishing vessel? Wet. And salty. No, really. I was so concerned with making sure the photographer could see my 'STOP - Cod in Crisis' sign, and trying not to swallow too much seawater, that I forgot all about the fishing boat with its big steel cables towing its huge trawl net behind me. I'd stopped being scared - all the fear came beforehand.