Marine Life & Conservation
As governments fail to agree Global Ocean Treaty, Greenpeace ship encounters armada of fishing vessels on high seas
As the fourth round of negotiations towards a Global Ocean Treaty fail to reach agreement at the UN Headquarters in New York, the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise has encountered a vast fleet of over 400 vessels plundering the open ocean in the South Atlantic.
Transiting back from its recent expedition in the Antarctic, the crew discovered 265 vessels in their immediate vicinity (35 km), with the vessel’s radar (SAR) looking like a fishing free-for-all.
“This area is known as the wild west of the seas for a reason: it’s lawless and bloody out here,” said Luisina Vueso, Oceans campaign lead from Greenpeace Andino, speaking from the Arctic Sunrise. “Looking out from on deck I can see countless industrial fishing vessels on the horizon. We calculate 265 ships just within a 35 km range of us, and well over 400 in the broader ‘Blue Hole’ fishing area. These aren’t small vessels we’re talking about, this sea is spattered with huge industrial boats hauling life out of the ocean – and there’s barely any scrutiny. For the last two weeks, governments meeting at the UN to negotiate a Global Ocean Treaty have been talking, talking, talking – but out here it’s only action. Grim, ruthless, action that’s plundering the ocean for profit, pushing wildlife populations towards collapse and threatening the health of the biggest ecosystem on Earth. It’s a terrible sight to see.”
Governments at the UN have just failed to agree on a Global Ocean Treaty which could pave the way to the protection of international waters, by putting areas off-limits to destructive fishing.
“Government promises to protect at least a third of the world’s oceans by 2030 are already coming off the rails,” said Will McCallum, of Greenpeace’s Protect the Oceans campaign, speaking from the negotiations in New York. “It’s clear our oceans are in crisis, and if we don’t land the strong Global Ocean Treaty we need in 2022, there’s no way to create ocean sanctuaries in international waters to allow them to achieve that 30×30 goal. This treaty is crucial because all of us rely on the oceans: from the oxygen they give to the livelihoods and food security they provide.
“The glacial pace of negotiations at the UN over the past two weeks and the lack of agreement on a number of key issues just doesn’t reflect the urgency of the situation. Climate breakdown is transforming our oceans. Wildlife populations are declining. And as industrial fishing empties the seas of life, coastal communities around the world are seeing their livelihoods and food security threatened. These aren’t hypotheticals, our oceans are in crisis right now and in dire need of a rescue plan.
“Many countries are stepping up their efforts, but governments like the 48 members of the High Ambition Coalition, which have committed to securing a Global Ocean Treaty that delivers 30×30, need to escalate this immediately. That means communicating the urgency of the situation directly to the President of the negotiations and making clear that the conference’s bureaucratic pace is threatening to dash their stated ambitions. A further round of ocean negotiations later this year can’t afford to be a talking shop. To overcome the lack of consensus on key issues in the treaty, ministers and heads of state need to be proactively and consistently meeting to map out how they can successfully negotiate the treaty our oceans desperately need in 2022. Anything less is a failure.”
For more information about Greenpeace visit their website here.
The Ocean Cleanup, the global non-profit project, has removed a verified all-time total of ten million kilograms (22 million lbs.) of trash from oceans and rivers around the world – approximately the same weight as the Eiffel Tower.
To complete its mission of ridding the oceans of plastic, The Ocean Cleanup uses a dual strategy: cleaning up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) to remove the plastic already afloat in the oceans, while stopping the flow of plastic from the world’s most polluting rivers.
Through cleaning operations in the GPGP and in rivers in eight countries, the cumulative total of trash removed has now surpassed ten million kilograms. This milestone demonstrates the acceleration of The Ocean Cleanup’s impact, while underlining the astonishing scale of the plastic pollution problem and the need for continued support and action.
While encouraging for the mission, this milestone is only a staging point: millions more tons of plastic still pollute our oceans and The Ocean Cleanup intends to continue learning, improving and innovating to solve this global catastrophe.
This announcement comes as governments from around the world meet to continue negotiations to develop a new legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution at INC4 in Ottawa, Canada. Representatives of The Ocean Cleanup will be in attendance and the organization will be urging decision-makers to collaborate towards a comprehensive and ambitious global treaty which addresses plastic at all stages of its life cycle and in all marine environments worldwide, including in areas beyond national jurisdiction.
It is encouraging to see that the need for remediation is reflected in the various options for potential treaty provisions. It is essential that the final treaty contains clear targets for the remediation of legacy plastic pollution, and reduction of riverine plastic emissions.
Tackling plastic pollution requires innovative and impactful solutions. The treaty should therefore incentivize the innovation ecosystem by fostering innovations that make maximal use of data, technology and scientific knowledge – such as those designed and deployed by The Ocean Cleanup.
‘After many tough years of trial and error, it’s amazing to see our work is starting to pay off – and I am proud of the team who has brought us to this point.’ said Boyan Slat, Founder and CEO of The Ocean Cleanup. ‘While we still have a long way to go, our recent successes fill us with renewed confidence that the oceans can be cleaned.’
The Ocean Cleanup was founded in 2013 and captured its first plastic in 2019, with the first confirmed catch in the GPGP coming soon after the deployment of Interceptor 001 in Jakarta, Indonesia. After surpassing one million kilograms of trash removed in early 2022, the non-profit project has since progressed to the third iteration of its GPGP cleaning solution, known as System 03, and a network of Interceptors currently covering rivers in eight countries, with more deployments set for 2024.
About The Ocean Cleanup
The Ocean Cleanup is an international non-profit organization that develops and scales technologies to rid the world’s oceans of plastic. They aim to achieve this goal through a dual strategy: stemming the inflow via rivers and cleaning up the legacy plastic that has already accumulated in the ocean. For the latter, The Ocean Cleanup develops large-scale systems to efficiently concentrate the plastic for periodic removal. This plastic is tracked and traced through DNV’s chain of custody model to certify claims of origin when recycling it into new products. To curb the tide via rivers, The Ocean Cleanup has developed Interceptor™ solutions to halt and extract riverine plastic before it reaches the ocean. Founded in 2013 by Boyan Slat, The Ocean Cleanup now employs a broadly multi-disciplined team of approximately 140. The foundation is headquartered in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
For more information, visit: theoceancleanup.com and follow @theoceancleanup on social media.
Marine Life & Conservation
Steve Backshall to headline Shark Trust’s flagship event: For the Love of Sharks
Join a host of amazing, shark loving, speakers including Steve Backshall and the Shark Trust team for an evening celebrating shark conservation at the Royal Geographical Society in London this November.
Date: 29th November 2024
Time: 6-10pm
Location: Royal Geographical Society, London
Tickets: https://www.sharktrust.org/Event/flos24
The event will be a celebration of all things shark. Those lucky enough to get hold of tickets will hear from engaging guest speakers with a passion for sharks.
The line-up includes (*subject to change if unforeseen circumstances arise)
Steve Backshall: One of television’s busiest presenters, BAFTA award-winning wildlife expert Steve has been passionate about the wild world ever since he was young.
Steve’s impressive TV career has taken him all around the world, investigating a wide array of species and environments. Steve has filmed over 100 hours of children’s wildlife programmes with the BAFTA award winning Deadly 60 franchise and recently, with Sky Nature, for his new series ‘Whale with Steve Backshall’. He has been a patron for the Shark Trust for 10 years.
Simon Rogerson: is a photojournalist specialising in natural history, diving and the sea.
He is editor of SCUBA magazine, the official journal of the British Sub-Aqua Club. Simon started his career as a crime reporter but gravitated towards his ‘less depressing’ interest in underwater exploration, joining the staff of DIVE magazine in 1999. In 2005 he was named ‘Editor of the Year’ in the PPA’s Independent Publishing Awards. Simon also works as a freelance writer, contributing frequently to the Sunday Times and Telegraph, in addition to BBC Wildlife, Esquire, and a host of international diving magazines. He is the author of a book, Dive Red Sea, published by Ultimate Sports. Now based in Berkshire, Simon has been a Patron of the Shark Trust for 20 years.
More speakers to be announced soon. Head to the Shark Trust website to learn more.
The evening will also allow guests the final chance to see the Oceanic 31, shark art exhibition. Some of the artwork will be auctioned/raffled at the event, while the rest will be auctioned online to raise money for the Shark Trust Oceanic Programme.
For the Love of Sharks is an evening with something for everyone who is interested and fascinated by sharks. Join the Shark Trust, their Patrons, Trustees and Staff, along with a host of supporters for this celebration of shark conservation.
For more information or to buy a ticket: https://www.sharktrust.org/Event/flos24
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