Shetland

Island life

Posted by Willie — 18 May 2007 at 5:33pm - Comments

Anemones on a sea mount

Anemones on a sea mount - not known for their migratory habits

The weather forecast was ominous as we departed Aberdeen harbour, gales and high winds were ahead of us. But with the wind behind us, we've had a good night's sailing.

Article tagged as: arctic sunrise, marine reserves, north sea, oceans, scotland, sea mounts, shetland

Tackling trawlers, take two

Posted by jossc — 14 May 2007 at 4:20pm - Comments

Follow the crew of the Arctic Sunrise on their campaign for Marine Reserves in our North Sea Tour blog

A Greenpeace activist floats in the North Sea with a banner saying 'Stop Battering Cod'Two pair trawlers we encountered yesterday admitted they were fishing for cod and told us confusingly fishy stories. One boat said it was catching lots of big cod, while the other reckoned they'd trawled loads of young fish. Either way they shouldn't be taking any – cod stocks are now only a fraction of what they were a decade or two ago.

Article tagged as: arctic sunrise, cod, direct action, marine reserves, north sea, oceans, scotland, shetland

Little birds and big fish

Posted by Willie — 13 May 2007 at 11:00am - Comments

Follow the crew of the Arctic Sunrise on their campaign for Marine Reserves in our North Sea Tour blog

We have a hitch-hiker on board: a small bird, which - from my frantic bird handbook thumbing - appears to be a juvenile stonechat or whinchat. Anyway, everyone's happy to have the tiny stowaway with us for a while although it may leave us when we get closer to land. For now, however, it's proving to be camera-shy and getting fed on breadcrumbs.

Article tagged as: arctic sunrise, cod, marine reserves, north sea, oceans, scotland, shetland, whales

Stopping cod trawlers fishing the hard way

Posted by jossc — 12 May 2007 at 11:30am - Comments

A Greenpeace swimmer attempts to prevent a North Sea cod trawler from fishing

We're still out here in the North Sea talking to trawlermen to convince them to stop fishing cod to extinction, and taking action against those who just won't listen.

For a few days now, we've had no luck locating cod fishing vessels, but that finally changed last night when we came across a Scottish trawler fishing for cod 40 miles east of Unst, the most northerly point of the Shetland Isles. They were reluctant to talk to us, so we decided to wait until morning and pay them a visit.

Article tagged as: arctic sunrise, cod, direct actions, marine reserves, north sea, oceans, scotland, shetland, videos

Viking Bank holiday

Posted by Willie — 8 May 2007 at 11:05am - Comments

Follow the crew of the Arctic Sunrise on their campaign for Marine Reserves in our North Sea Tour blog

We've had 'weather' out at sea, so again we've sought some shelter of the remote island of Fetlar. It's both reassuring to be near land when the wind's blowing, and frustrating when we can't set foot on it. I think many people on board would love to go for a nice long walk that didn't involve stairs or a handrail.

Article tagged as: arctic sunrise, fetlar, marine reserves, north sea, oceans, scotland, shetland

Thoughts from a little boat on a big ocean

Posted by jossc — 7 May 2007 at 12:00am - Comments

Follow the crew of the Arctic Sunrise on their campaign for Marine Reserves in our North Sea Tour blog

StenPosted by Sten the activist

Life on a ship is special, there's nothing else like it.

You're thrown together with a small group of people in a small space, in a big void. In these conditions you get to know people much faster than you usually do in normal life. I've met a lot of people onboard who I really like, and I know I'm going to miss when I leave the ship. And then, of course, I've encountered one or two who I like a bit less.

I've visited places I hadn't been to before - Bergen and the Shetlands so far - and done the things I came here to do - bobbed around in a dry-suit in front of a trawler, holding a 'Cod in Crisis' sign to get the message out that the North Sea needs marine reserves.

Article tagged as: arctic sunrise, marine reserves, oceans, scotland, shetland

Passing pigeons

Posted by Willie — 6 May 2007 at 9:00am - Comments

Follow the crew of the Arctic Sunrise on their campaign for Marine Reserves in our North Sea Tour blog

A couple of rock doves passed over the Arctic Sunrise this morning, heading for nearby cliffs on Fetlar. These birds are typically found on cliffs like those around Shetland, but are probably better known as the feral pigeons that have colonised the artificial cliffs we have built in our towns and cities.

Article tagged as: arctic sunrise, cod, extinction, marine reserves, north sea, oceans, passenger pigeons, scotland, shetland

Farewell Fetlar

Posted by Willie — 5 May 2007 at 12:00pm - Comments

Follow the crew of the Arctic Sunrise on their campaign for Marine Reserves in our North Sea Tour blog

A gannet in the North Sea near Sheltand

A gannet in the waters of Shetland © Greenpeace/Christien Åslund

On Friday morning we left the shelter of Shetland, where we had spent a day at anchor in a secluded bay off the northerly island of Fetlar. I've never been there before, but it was a lovely spot to stop. We didn't go onto land, which was a shame because some of the crew had been practising their ceilidh dancing especially since we were headed towards Scotland's most northerly isles.

Article tagged as: arctic sunrise, birdwatching, fetlar, lerwick, marine reserves, north sea, oceans, scotland, shetland
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