overfishing

Organised crime seems to pay quite handsomely, especially if you manage to be part of a profession that seems to be beyond reproach. That can surely be the only conclusion to draw from the group of 17 fishermen who were fined a mere £720 thousand in court today for an overfishing scam that effectively stole £63 MILLION of fish from our seas.

After the huge success of our UK tinned tuna campaign, described by the Independent as "one of the most successful environmental campaigns in years", it was great to hear a big European tuna brand - Bolton commit to completely clean up its act.

Something unprecedented happened yesterday. Greenpeace campaigners and part of the UK fishing industry came together to deliver 10,000 messages from Greenpeace supporters about the need for reform of the Common Fisheries Policy to Number 10.  

Today we've released shocking footage of ocean life dying in gruesome ways at the hands of industrial tuna fishers in the Pacific Ocean. The footage was shot by a New Zealand helicopter pilot turned whistleblower, who undertook aerial reconnaissance for tuna boats in the Pacific in 2009.

Without fail, anytime I blog about more sustainable fish there will be at least one comment along the lines of ‘go vegan’ or ‘no one needs to eat fish anyway!’ That is of course fine and a viewpoint I (as a vegetarian of 25 years and counting) can certainly sympathise with.