Pete Bethune has revealed his latest mission and declared war on fishing piracy.

The Kiwi self-styled eco-warrior gained international notoriety after serving time in a Japanese prison for illegally boarding a whaling ship two years ago.

His latest venture looks even more dangerous.

The Auckland waterfront launch of Pete Bethune’s purpose-built amphibious boat couldn’t be further from its intended destination – the seas around West and East Africa, plagued by illegal fishing operations.

Built by Auckland company Sealegs, the impressive craft is fitted with every conceivable gadget from infrared cameras to night vision.

“This allows us to be a lot more effective in coastal waters,” he says. “On the patrols we’re undertaking, this will be an amazing asset for us and we will start to deliver on this boat.”

By deliver he means bagging, as he puts it, “the bad guys”. Mr Bethune has assembled a team of commandos from former navy seals and other international special forces, all willing to put their lives on the line for marine conservation.

“This team of ex-military guys are taking on a very formidable target – these criminal gangs that fish illegally in Africa – and we’re really looking forward to getting over there and getting stuck into them.”

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The water may seem like a limitless source of food but we are slowly realising the free-for-all can't continue. Photo / Richard Robinson

Control of global stocks is the only answer, say Gareth Morgan and
Geoff Simmons, authors of Hook, Line & Blinkers: Everything Kiwis Never
Wanted to Know About Fishing.

The election is looming, but it’s a sad state of affairs when a conversation
over tea takes precedence over actual policies.

So we’ve decided to clock out and go fishing.

Out on the waves, the vast blue of the ocean dupes us to believe it to be a
limitless source of food and a bottomless receptacle of our waste.

Yet as instances of abuse of our oceans accumulate we are slowly realising
that this free-for-all can’t continue – unless we’re happy to leave the ocean in
a worse state for our grandchildren.

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New video footage captured by a tuna industry whistleblower has been released by Greenpeace, which reveals the routine slaughter of other marine species, including whale sharks, rays and whales. The footage is shot onboard a tuna fishing vessel in the Pacific which deploys fish aggregating devices, one of the most aggressive fishing operations used by the industry in the face of declining fish populations owing to overfishing. Warning: this footage contains images that some may find disturbing

5:30 AM Wednesday Nov 9, 2011

Paul Watson. Photo / Steven McNicholl

Sea Shepherd captain Paul Watson believes whaling in the Antarctic is at a tipping point, but no thanks to the “useless” New Zealand Government.

The outspoken, uncompromising eco-warrior will soon hoist his ship’s Jolly Roger for conservation group Sea Shepherd’s eighth voyage to the Southern Ocean to chase and harass Japanese whalers.

This summer’s battle is expected to be fiercer than usual because the Japanese are sending a strengthened fleet with armed guards to the Antarctic for the first time in three years.

Watson, 60, is in Auckland to attend the New Zealand premiere of a biographical documentary Eco-Pirate.

Read Full Article at NZ Herald

8:37 AM Thursday Nov 10, 2011

Underwater Association president Shane Wasik will ask the owners of the stricken Rena to leave part of the ship on Astrolabe Reef as a diving wreck. Photo / Alan Gibson

The container ship that brought an environmental tragedy to the Bay of Plenty could become a tourist-pulling underwater wonder, says a national marine group.

which is sponsoring a national divers’ conference in Tauranga this weekend, wants part of the crippled MV Rena to remain as a shipwreck and will approach Greek owners Costamare Shipping with the plan.

The bid comes as a new nationwide campaign backed by 5000 people puts fresh pressure on Costamare to cover the disaster’s entire damage bill, saving millions of taxpayer dollars.

Pumping of heavy fuel oil from the submerged number five starboard wing tank on the Rena began last night.

Operations were hampered yesterday, as salvors had to purge air from the vessel’s last full oil tank before pumping could begin.

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Greenseas restated its commitment to be supplied with tuna from sustainable fisheries, which do not use FADs. (Photo:Greenseas/Greenpeace/FIS)

Tuna company Greenseas has announced that it is deepening its commitment to tuna conservation by sourcing 100 per cent of its tuna from fish aggregating device- (FAD) free sources by the end of 2015.

“Greenseas was the first canned tuna brand to switch to dolphin-friendly fishing methods two decades ago, so it is appropriate that Greenseas is once again taking the lead on environmental sustainability,” said Heinz Australia Corporate Affairs Manager Jessica Ramsden.

In addition, Greenseas informed this week, it will go on providing financial backing for scientific research by the Oceanic Fisheries Programme (OFP) and supports having marine reserves to safeguard marine biodiversity in the Western Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO).

“Dropping FADs and supporting marine reserves in the Pacific high seas pockets are among the strongest conservation moves a company like Greenseas could make. That commitment, along with their ongoing support for OFP’s research programme, demonstrates genuine leadership,” stated Greenpeace oceans campaigner Nathaniel Pelle.

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