Officials at Greenpeace issued a statement today claiming the organization had evidence of illegal fish transfer at sea between ships from different countries.
The statement alleged Greenpeace “collected photo and video evidence” of a ship from Cambodia transshipping fish catches with one ship from the Philippines and two from Indonesia.
“None of the boats are on the official record of vessels authorized to operate in the area, and they are therefore not allowed to fish or transfer fish at sea according to the rules of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC),” Greenpeace said in its statement.
Greenpeace also claimed to see a mile-long oil slick in the area of the transshipment, and that activists boarded the Cambodian ship and found frozen tuna in the hold, “likely destined for canned tuna markets.”
“This illegal and unregulated activity is a stark reminder of the urgent need to close the Pacific Commons to all fishing and increase enforcement,” said John Hocevar, oceans campaign director for Greenpeace USA. “In order for people to be confident that their canned tuna is legal, never mind sustainable, we need stronger traceability standards so retailers can track seafood from where it is caught all the way to the shelf.”
Greenpeace officials said they would be sharing their observations with the WCPFC and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
