IN 2012, almost a hundred thousand Australians and 20 fishing and environment groups stood up to stop the world’s second largest super trawler from changing the face of fishing in our country forever. Now we need to do it again. But this time, we need to stop them for good.
Super trawlers (large freezer factory trawlers) have helped destroy the world’s fish stocks and have a criminal track record. The same super trawler that was proposed for Australia, the Margiris/Abel Tasman, and other super trawlers, were ordered out of Western Sahara waters in 2011 after breaching international law. Since 2012, there have been three charges and investigations into illegal fishing by super trawlers in Europe (by France, Germany and Ireland). One of these investigations occurred when Parlevliet en van der Plas (the owner of the Margiris) had one of their other super trawlers arrested by the Irish Navy for dumping tonnes of catch at sea because they came across a school of more valuable fish.
So whatever AFMA says they will do with fisheries science and management here in Australia, allowing those companies to profit from OUR AUSSIE FISH, knowing they’ve got major form for doing the wrong thing and after cleaning out the oceans elsewhere, will only aid in their destruction of the world’s fish stocks. They are clearly not interested in being good corporate citizens and are not the kind of operators we want in Australia’s fisheries.
Foreign factory trawlers often fly a “flag of convenience” – a practice where vessels are registered in countries unrelated to ownership to avoid regulations (e.g. governing labour costs). Michael Field has written a new book, The Catch, based on research started in New Zealand, where foreign factory trawlers (foreign charter vessels) have been increasingly used. He exposes horrifying examples of modern slavery in which men from poor countries are trapped on filthy, unsafe ships, treated brutally by captains and officers, and receive little or no pay; and fishing practices that are wasteful, environmentally damaging, and often illegal.
If you want a fishing industry in Australia that employs local people, sustains fisheries, protects our wildlife, and allows a future for our kids to fish, then you need to act now.
Help save Australian fishing
To have your say sign the new petition to PM Tony Abbott for a permanent ban on all super trawlers in Australia. Get your angling or gamefishing club to join the Stop the Trawler Alliance so that we can reach out across the country email us at stopthetrawler@et.org.au with your club name, location and logo.
More info and petition at: www.stopthetrawler.net.