Ro
Maritime government
03-15-2016 11:56:09
Seafarer’s coat of arms, the Steve Irwin, en route to the Indian Ocean to address a fleet of fishing vessels using driftnets; type of fishing banned by the United Nations in 1992 because of its unfair and destructive effect.
Taking advantage of the remoteness of the area, and without law enforcement, the navy has shown a resurgence of this practice.
Steve Irwin first took over the fleet of vessels engaged in illegal fishing in January 2016. On Wednesday, Sea Shepherd released stunning photos and video of the situation, showing sharks, dolphins, seals, and several species of fish, including the endangered Bluefin tuna. , getting caught and dead in the illegal nets.
The goal of this new operation, Operation Driftnet, is to counter the vessels while engaged in illegal fishing, and then use direct action methods to shut down their operations.
Sea Shepherd also registers the vessels and gathers evidence of their work to assist inshore searches.
Leader of the Campaign and Captain of the Steve Irwin, Siddharth Chakravarty said, “Driftnets were banned in 1992 by a United Nations moratorium. The countries of the world 24 years ago were concerned about the negative effects of this type of fishing. Driftnets did not have a place in the oceans of the world then and they do not today. Our job is to make sure that the ban is enforced. ”
Sea Shepherd plans to join the fleet of illegal vessels in the coming days.