Rainbow Warrior Documents NZ Sea Degradation

by Greenpeace/Sail-World on 6 May 2006 In the lead up to the 20th anniversary of the bombing of the first Rainbow Warrior in Auckland harbour, the flagship Rainbow Warrior II of Greenpeace, the self-designated protector of the planet, set sail for the international waters around New Zealand to help defend deep sea life.

The Rainbow Warrior returned after nearly three weeks at sea highlighting the devastation caused by bottom trawlers.

Greenpeace claims that these deep sea destroyers drag vast nets across the ocean floor, which crush everything in their path as they swallow huge amounts of life. About half the catch of every haul is unwanted. This bycatch is thrown back dead or dying into the sea.

While at sea the crew on board were able to document clear evidence of the impacts of bottom trawling, including the destruction of a tree-sized piece of ancient coral that was hauled up by the New Zealand vessel Waipori.

'Bottom trawling is the most destructive fishing practice in the world,' said Greenpeace oceans campaigner Carmen Gravatt on board the ship in Auckland harbour. 'The deep sea is the largest pool of undiscovered life on Earth. Bottom trawling these unknown worlds is like blowing up Mars before we get there.'

Last year the Rainbow Warrior sailed to the Tasman Sea and documented New Zealand and Belizian bottom trawlers hauling in huge amounts of bycatch, rocks from the sea floor and bottom dwelling marine life - including endangered black coral.

Around the world, scientists and environmental groups are joining Greenpeace in calling for a United Nations moratorium on high seas bottom trawling.

Carmen Gravatt added:

'Each day bottom trawling continues, more deep sea life gets wiped out and the situation becomes more critical.'
'A moratorium on bottom trawling in international waters is urgently needed to protect life in the deep sea and the New Zealand and Australian governments should be joining other states in leading the global push for one at the UN.'

Peter Willcox, captain of the first Rainbow Warrior when it was bombed on 10 July 1985, is skippering the ship again during this trip.

'The bombing of the first Rainbow Warrior was a terrible tragedy, but there could not be a better way to commemorate the event than to continue challenging the big environmental issues of today such as bottom trawling in international waters,' he said.

Follow the journey of the Rainbow Warrior on the Greenpeace Website

www.sail-world.com/send_message.cfm!Click_Here!same to write to us about this article