In 'Epic' Chase, Sea Shepherd Vows to Pursue Poachers to 'Ends of the Earth'

Published on Friday, January 09, 2015

by Common Dreams

In 'Epic' Chase, Sea Shepherd Vows to Pursue Poachers to 'Ends of the Earth'

The dramatic chase, which has gone on for 22 days, is thought to be the world's longest pursuit of an illegal fishing vessel.

by Deirdre Fulton, staff writer

The international marine wildlife conservation organization Sea Shepherd is engaged in "epic" pursuit of an alleged poaching vessel in the Southern Ocean, about 2,300 nautical miles from South Africa, or about 80 nautical miles outside of Australian Antarctic waters.

The dramatic chase, which has gone on for 22 days, is thought to be the world's longest sea chase of an illegal fishing vessel.

On December 17, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society ship Bob Barker intercepted a known poaching vessel, the Nigerian-flagged Thunder, a trawler on the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources's black list of illegal operators. The Thunder is known to utilize gillnets in its poaching operations—a method of fishing outlawed by CCAMLR due to the risks it poses to marine mammals, sea turtles, and other oceanic species.

The Telegraph reports that "the poachers, who are on an Interpol wanted list for illegal fishing, were on the hunt for the endangered Patagonian toothfish, whose buttery fillets are sold in high-end restaurants as Chilean Sea Bass."

More:
http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/01/09/epic-chase-sea-shepherd-vows-pursue-poachers-ends-earth