05-10-2004 Greenpeace today warned that the world's largest mountain range, which lies under the sea, and the multitude of wildlife it supports, including giant squid, is being destroyed by destructive fishing practices.
The mountain range, which is made of many underwater mountains, or 'seamounts', stretches from Iceland to the Azores and is threatened by bottom trawling, a method of fishing that ploughs up the ocean floor.
The warning comes as the Greenpeace ship MY Esperanza prepares to sail to the North Atlantic this week to investigate and document the devastation caused to seamounts.
Ahead of the United Nations General assembly in November, Greenpeace are calling for the UN to impose an immediate moratorium on all deep sea bottom trawling. Much of the marine life that depends upon seamounts - the least explored mountains on the planet - has yet to be discovered and much is unique to individual seamounts.
Seamounts are home to deep water fish such as the orange roughy - a target species for bottom trawlers - which doesn't reach maturity until around 30 years old and can live for 150 years.
Sarah Duthie, Greenpeace oceans campaigner, said: "Bottom trawling is the most destructive activity on the high seas.
"Bottom trawlers are effectively clear-cutting areas as rich in life as any rainforest. In minutes they can devastate corals that have taken thousands of years to grow and wipe out species even before science has had time to study them.
"Every day wasted just discussing the need for action is possibly another deep sea habitat gone."
Greenpeace is a member of the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition, an international alliance of organisations, representing millions of people in countries around the world, which is calling for a moratorium on high seas bottom trawling.
Further information
For more information, contact the Greenpeace press office on 020 7865 8255.
