Guest guest Posted March 29, 2006 Report Share Posted March 29, 2006 Greenpeace helps arrest 'pirate' fishermen Tuesday, March 28, 2006 Posted: 1754 GMT (0154 HKT) CONAKRY, Guinea (Reuters) -- Environmental group Greenpeace said on Tuesday it had helped authorities in Guinea arrest a Chinese vessel fishing illegally off its coast as part of a crackdown on " pirate " fishermen plundering West African waters. Greenpeace has said it detected almost 20 foreign vessels during the past 10 days operating without a license off West Africa -- where many poor countries lack the resources to tackle illegal fishing. " Today we found one pirate -- but we know there is a fleet of them out here and in every other ocean, stealing fish every day, " Sarah Duthie, a Greenpeace oceans campaigner, said in a statement. Pirate fishing accounts for around a fifth of the world's daily catch, Greenpeace estimates, and is worth around $1 billion a year in sub-Saharan Africa alone. A Greenpeace helicopter spotted the Chinese ship, the Lian Run No. 14, at first light on Tuesday among a group of fishing boats some 60 miles (96 kilometers) off the coast. A dinghy from the environmental organization ferried aboard a Guinean naval official and a fisheries inspector who confirmed the ship had no license and made the arrest. Greenpeace ship Esperanza will now escort the vessel to the Guinean capital where it will be detained, the environmental group said. The captain of the Lian Run -- one of several Chinese vessels observed in the area -- said his documentation had been registered in the Spanish island of Las Palmas, off West Africa. Greenpeace said boxes found on board the vessel bore the names of seven other fishing ships, suggesting licensed boats were using the Lian Run No. 14 to bolster their own catches. Local fisherman along West Africa's Atlantic seaboard complain that huge commercial trawlers are plundering their waters. Environmental groups estimate fish stocks in West Africa may have halved in the past 50 years. " NOTICE: Due to Presidential Executive Orders, the National Security Agency may have read this email without warning, warrant, or notice. They may do this without any judicial or legislative oversight. You have no recourse nor protection save to call for the impeachment of the current President. " Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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