Follow the crew of the Arctic Sunrise on their campaign for Marine Reserves in our North Sea Tour blog
A weekend in Lerwick allowed us to bring the campaign to land, and bring people from land to the campaign. Leaving Shetland marks the end of the North Sea ship tour, but of course we'll be taking the campaign back to our various offices around the North Sea. Meanwhile, the Rainbow Warrior is in the Mediterranean continuing our European work on marine reserves.
On Saturday, we had some visits from local supporters, and the campaign team also managed to meet with the local MP and MSP to explain the campaign and what we have been finding. Sunday was a traditional open boat day with a steady stream of visitors, ranging from the under fives to the over eighties. A varied mix of people came aboard, locals and tourists alike. From the people I spoke to there seemed to be a lot of ex-fishermen amongst them - most acknowledging we need to do something soon to ensure a sustainable future for fish stocks in the North Sea.
Over the last five weeks we've been in Denmark, Norway and Scotland. We've engaged with fishermen from all those countries, as well as from France, Holland, and Germany. And we've taken action to try and stop cod fishing, and to highlight the environmental problems for all of us who share the North Sea.
We've seen the continued fishing for cod, and the waste of discards and bycatch first hand. We've also seen lots of the wildlife in the North Sea that depends on a healthy, thriving ecosystem.
Big thanks to everyone who has supported us over the past weeks, and if you haven't done so yet, please email environment secretary David Miliband to tell him we need marine reserves
For cod's sake.
