Petur Jonsson Trawler Action

Greenpeace activists hold banner saying "Legal?", in front of the 64 meter, Icelandic bottom trawler, Petur Jonsson, in international waters of the NW Atlantic. The Petur Jonsson is a shrimp bottom trawler working 24 hours and setting two nets at a time. Iceland has opted out of the regional management efforts for shrimp in this area, setting its own quota. Four of the six straddling fish stocks under the care of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (NAFO) are under moratorium. Greenpeace is documenting and protesting the bottom trawling industry in international waters of the Northwest Atlantic because it is an unsustainable fishing technique that has destructive impacts on the marine ecosystems and poses serious threats to the long term survival of deep sea fish species. Greenpeace is calling for a UN moratorium on highseas bottom trawling. The Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (NAFO) has been in existence since 1979 to manage and conserve the fishery resources of the Northwest Atlantic. Despite its adoption of a wide range of conservation and management measures and a well developed institutional structure, NAFO has been unable to achieve its mandate and as of 2005, ten stocks under NAFO?s competence are currently under moratoria.