Trawling protests continue

Greenpeace has continued its high-profile campaign against the fishing practice of bottom-trawling, with another dramatic incident in the North Atlantic. Protesters from the environmental group’s Esperanza ship boarded the Lithuanian flagged ‘Anuva’ trawler and unfurled banners reading ‘Stop Deep Sea Plunder’, in the second such protest in as many weeks. They also occupied the nets of the boat and prevented a re-casting.

"Whole habitats are being ripped up from depths of 1000 metres just for the sake of a few fish. This deep sea plunder is wiping out unknown worlds, including ancient coral. The destruction is unnecessary and what's worse, irreparable," commented Greenpeace’s Dima Litvinov.

Bottom-trawling boats, in the majority from EU countries, drag fishing gear weighing several tonnes across the sea bed, destroying everything in their path including marine wildlife such as coral and devastating life on underwater mountains - or `seamounts', such as the Darwin Mounds.