September 2005: Greenpeace activists disrupt the IUU fishing activities of the factory trawler 'Murtosa' in the Barents Sea
If you've been following our oceans campaign over the past year or so, you'll know that many fish stocks around the world are in a dangerously depleted state. And while we've had some success here in the UK persuading major retail chains to take a responsible attitude about where the seafood they sell comes from, far too many of the fish we eat still come from unsustainable sources - either from destructive and wasteful fishing methods like beam trawling, or from illegal 'pirate' fishing.
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Disappearing fish stocks are the gold which lures today's pirates, who are estimated to take around 25 percent of the annual global fish catch. It's a big growth industry, a lucrative business worth some US$9 billion a year because weak controls allow them to ignore rules and quotas designed to prevent overfishing.
So it was good news to hear that this week eight of Europe's largest seafood companies, including Macdonalds and Bird's Eye, have united to demand better controls on pirates operating in Norway's Barents sea, the last large marine ecosystem in Europe left relatively unspoiled. In a strongly worded letter to the Norwegian government the companies called for them to provide up to date 'blacklists' of all vessels suspected of IUU (Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported - the technical terms for piracy) fishing in the Barents, where one in five cod are caught illegally.
This is really a victory for informed consumerism (pat yourself on the back if you've written to demand sustainable seafood from your supermarket, or started asking questions about where stock comes from at the seafood counter). The message is getting through to even giant companies like Macdonalds that many of their customers expect them to take a responsible attitude on such important issues, and will punish them by not buying the products if they don't.
In their letter, the seafood majors commit themselves to follow guidelines adopted by the European Fish Processors and Traders Association (AIPCE) last September, avoiding all IUU cod and haddock and refusing to buy fish from any vessel blacklisted by both Norway and fisheries management organizations like the North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC).
We shouldn't kid ourselves though, big corporations are not motivated by altruism - it's loss of market share that grabs their attention. So we need to keep the pressure on to encourage them to do the right thing which, with your help, is what we're planning to do.
