Greenpeace is calling on the Gillard Government to refuse to grant a fishing license to the FV Margiris and introduce a policy to ban all super trawlers from Australian waters.
“These ships literally vacuum up entire schools of fish. You could fly a Jumbo Jet through the opening of its net with room to spare,” said Greenpeace oceans campaigner Nathaniel Pelle from a Greenpeace inflatable alongside the Margiris.” Wherever these super trawlers go, they leave devastated fisheries in their wake.”
“They have overfished European waters, collapsed fisheries in the South Pacific, and devastated fishing communities in West Africa. We simply can’t let the same thing happen in Australia.”
The Gillard Government has the power to stop the Margiris before the plunder begins. Tens of thousands of Australians have already told the government to stop the super trawler, and public outrage from a broad range of communities - from environmental groups to recreational fishermen - continues to grow at the government’s failure to act.
“Australian marine life does not stand a chance against this kind of vessel – and neither do Australian fishermen. Even research[1] cited by the owners shows that despite new technology, many animals, including fur seals, will routinely be killed in its nets. Both the Environment and Fisheries Ministers are rightly expressing serious concerns, but now, with this ship already in our waters, time is running out for them to display some common sense and refuse to grant a license to the Margiris ,” said Greenpeace CEO David Ritter. “Allowing it to fish in Australian waters is not just against the national interest, it is simply absurd.”
The Greenpeace ‘No Super Trawler’ petition is available at: www.greenpeace.org/australia/no-supertrawlers
For more information, contact: Julie Macken in Port Lincoln, 0400 925 217. James Lorenz, Sydney, 0400 376 021
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Thursday 30 August, 2012: At 8.45am CST (time in Adelaide) Greenpeace activists on an inflatable boat intercepted the world’s second largest factory fishing trawler, the FV Margiris, and are blocking the monster ship’s attempt to sneak into Port Lincoln in South Australia.