Cornwall based artist Kurt Jackson has added his voice to those calling for an end to pair trawling for sea bass - which is killing thousands of dolphins in the Channel every year.
Jackson joined the crew of Greenpeace's flagship Esperanza last week to lend his support to their campaign. As a resident of west Cornwall he regularly sees the end results of the fishery - dead dolphins washed up on Cornish beaches.
Greenpeace's flagship the Esperanza left Falmouth on the 17 February to campaign for a total ban on pair trawling for sea bass in the Channel. Since then the onboard team have been gathering evidence of the impacts of pair trawling and taking direct action to stop pair trawlers from operating. The crew have also collected dead dolphins from the sea for later delivery to the Institute of Zoology for full post mortem. Esperanza came into Portland Harbour on Sunday 27th March and will depart again on Tuesday 29th March to campaign for marine reserves in Norwegian waters.
As 'resident artist onboard' Kurt has been painting and sketching seascapes and all aspects of the campaign - including a dead dolphin which was a victim of the fishery picked up from the water by the crew of Esperanza.
On Wednesday 23rd March, Kurt joined Greenpeace volunteers in inflatable boats as they took peaceful direct action in the Channel 25 miles south of Plymouth to stop the French pair trawlers Columbine and L'Arlequin from operating. A large pod of dolphins were spotted in the area just before the direct action took place.
Columbine and L'Arlequin were two of 12 boats fishing in the area where Greenpeace found three disembowelled dolphins (1). The dolphins all had their stomachs slit from top to bottom and their guts hanging out. The animals' stomachs are likely to have been slit in an effort to make them sink.
Kurt's visit is being filmed as part of a forthcoming BBC West Country documentary entitled 'Pictures of Britain: Kurt Jackson' which is due to go out on BBC South West on 29th May 2005. Kurt follows the work of many different environmental campaigns and organisations and became involved in fundraising for Greenpeace through auctioning the work he produces as the artist in residence at the annual Glastonbury festival.
Kurt explained: "As I live near the sea and have witnessed numerous dead dolphins on the beaches of Cornwall I have always had the desire to get involved in the issue. In the past I have painted the dead dolphins and at one time witnessed six washed up on a beach. Pair trawling with sea bass is a major factor in this problem and so when I was offered the chance to paint in situ on the MV Esperanza campaigning against pair trawling in the English Channel, I jumped at it."
"I first took up residence on 'Monkey Island' which is actually on the roof of the bridge. While I was there I painted a huge sea swell - it was an phenomenal seascape with shafts of light hitting the water."
He continued: "I enjoy the challenge of painting in crazy situations, so jumped at the chance when on my last day onboard I was able to get on board an inflatable to sketch an action to stop two pairs of French trawlers fishing. The experience was extraordinary and I managed to do a few marks on paper, although it was very wet out there it was totally worthwhile to produce these few images that can hopefully be used to raise awareness and put an end to this fishery."
Further information
Photos and video of Kurt documenting direct actions are available. For more information please contact the Greenpeace press office on 020 7865 8255.
For more about the campaign and to follow the progress of Esperanza visit www.greenpeace.org.uk/oceans
NOTES:
(1) This occurred on 15th March.
The French pair trawling fleet dominates the sea bass fishery in the Channel, which also includes UK vessels. The fishery peaks during February and March when sea bass return to the Channel to spawn. Boats operate in pairs dragging a huge net between them, which regularly also snares common dolphins who drown often breaking their fins, beaks or backbones in their struggle to escape.
Last year government observers found that just two UK vessels killed more than 150 dolphins while pair trawling for sea bass. They estimate that the UK fleet alone was responsible for the deaths of 439 dolphins last year. It is estimated that the UK and French fleets combined could be killing over 2,000 dolphins a year.
