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Deconstructing destruction

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

We often talk about 'destructive' fisheries on the oceans campaign - so I thought it was maybe time I explained what that means when we talk about cod. A purist could say that all fishing is destructive, in that it destroys the fishes' life at least, I guess.

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Can't you call or send a letter instead?

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

North Sea Marine Reserves Tour: talking to trawlermen

Martin getting the message across to the skipper of a Danish trawler

After a productive stay in the small fishing town of Hanstholm we set sail and headed out to sea again only to find – fog! Yes today the North Sea is full of it and the fog horn has had to work on overtime, giving everyone working on deck a slight case of tinnitus. Although it did make our job a bit trickier the fog couldn't stop us from finding or engaging the fishing vessels out here.

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Thank you for helping us to stamp out beam trawling!

Campaign archive: September 2007
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Trawler trash at Leeds supermarkets

6 Dec 2006
"For every plate of beam trawled plaice, there are up to three plates of wasted sea life"

'Fishmongers' lay out dead fish, crabs, sponges and coral at entrances to Asda, Morrisons and Tesco

Today, (Wednesday 6th December) Greenpeace volunteers have displayed hundreds of dead fish, crabs, sponges and coral - outside the entrance to a Leeds Morrisons supermarket, the fishmongers will also visit a Leeds Asda and Tesco, later today (1). The action is part of a 'trawler trash tour', which has already visited the same supermarkets in UK towns(2).

The dead marine life is incidental catch, known as bycatch, from beam trawlers targeting fish such as dover sole, plaice and cod.

"We are taking action today to tell UK Supermarkets to stop selling beam trawled products," said Oliver Knowles, Greenpeace Oceans Campaigner.

"Beam trawling is an incredibly destructive fishing method," not only does it damage the seabed, it is also massively wasteful. Up to 70% of what's caught in the net is thrown away, dead or dying. Tesco, Morrisons and Asda continue to sell fish trawled from the sea in this way. We are calling on them, and all supermarkets, to ban beam trawled species from their shelves."

Despite great progress on supermarket sustainable seafood procurement over the last 12 months, with several companies removing some of the most destructively fished species from their shelves, there is still a long way to go to ensure that all supermarket seafood comes from sustainable sources.

Oliver Knowles added, "With nearly 90% of seafood sales made through supermarkets, they are in a prime position to drive forward protection of the oceans."

A poll from Seafood Choices Alliance last year showed 79% of people consider the environmental impacts of seafood to be important.

ENDS

Images available
Contacts: Greenpeace UK press office 020 7865 8255

1. Morrisons, Penny Hill Centre, Church St, Hunslet LS10 2AP; Asda, Killingbeck Drive, Leeds, LS14 6UF; Tesco, York Road, Seacroft, LS14 6JD
2. The tour has already been to Oxford and Birmingham.
3. Download the Greenpeace league table (pdf), rating supermarkets according to their seafood procurement policies.

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'Trawler trash' at Birmingham supermarkets

5 Dec 2006

Greenpeace 'fish mongers' hold a banner reading "ban beam trawling!"

'Fishmongers' lay out dead fish, crabs, sponges and coral at entrances to Asda, Morrisons and Tesco

Today, (Tuesday 5th December) Greenpeace volunteers have displayed hundreds of dead fish, crabs, sponges and coral - outside the entrance to a Birmingham Asda superstore, the fishmongers will also visit a Birmingham Morrisons and Tesco, later today (1). The action is part of a "trawler trash tour", visiting the same supermarkets across the UK (2).

The dead marine life is incidental catch, known as bycatch, from beam trawlers targeting fish such as dover sole, plaice and cod.

"We are taking action today to tell UK Supermarkets to stop selling beam trawled products," said Oliver Knowles, Greenpeace Oceans Campaigner.

"Beam trawling is an incredibly destructive fishing method - not only does it damage the seabed, it is also massively wasteful. Up to 70% of what's caught in the net is thrown away, dead or dying. Tesco, Morrisons and Asda continue to sell fish trawled from the sea in this way. We are calling on them, and all supermarkets, to ban beam trawled species from their shelves."

Despite great progress on supermarket sustainable seafood procurement over the last 12 months, with several companies removing some of the most destructively fished species from their shelves, there is still a long way to go to ensure that all supermarket seafood comes from sustainable sources.

Oliver Knowles added, "With nearly 90% of seafood sales made through supermarkets, they are in a prime position to drive forward protection of the oceans."

A poll from Seafood Choices Alliance last year showed 79% of people consider the environmental impacts of seafood to be important.

ENDS

Images available
Contacts: Greenpeace UK press office 020 7865 8255

1. Asda, Coventry Road, B10 0HH; Morrisons, 264 Chester Road, Castle Bromwich B36 0LB; Tesco, Stratford Road, Monkspath
2. The tour has already been taken to Oxford and will travel to another UK town tomorrow.
3. Download the Greenpeace league table (pdf), rating supermarkets according to their seafood procurement policies.

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The "trawler trash" roadshow

For every plate of beam trawled plaice there are up to 3 plates of wasted sea life

Following their fine showing in London's Trafalgar square last month, our Greenpeace 'fishmongers' hit the road today on their mission to show supermarket shoppers how many of the nation's favourite fish are caught using wasteful and destructive methods - beam-trawling in particular.

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Time for supermarkets to ban beam trawled seafood

'Bycatch' on display in Trafalgar Square - another name for senseless waste and wanton destruction

Last year we challenged leading UK supermarkets to clean up their act by removing destructively fished seafood from their shelves - our new report shows that many of the biggest names on the high street have responded positively, and are leading a revolution that is transforming the entire fishing industry.

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