Illegal Tuna Fishing Action in the Pacific Ocean

Second leg of a tour where the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior travels into the Pacific Ocean to expose out of control tuna fisheries. Tuna fishing has been linked to shark finning, overfishing and human rights abuses.

During the tour, the ship came across the Taiwanese tuna longliner Shuen De Ching No.888 fishing without a license in the high seas close to Papua New Guinea's waters.
Enquiries with the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) and the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency revealed nothing matching the name or the ship’s radio call sign on their list of vessels authorized to fish in these waters or in the waters of any neighboring Pacific Island countries.
On board the vessel, Greenpeace activists uncovered sacks containing 75 kilograms of shark fins from at least 42 sharks. Under Taiwanese law and Pacific fishing rules, shark fins may not exceed 5% of the weight of the shark catch, and with only three shark carcasses reported in the log book, the vessel was in clear violation of both.