Some 100,000 dead fish were thrown back into the sea off the French coast on Thursday by one of the world's largest fishing vessels.
While the crew dismissed it as a "fishing accident", NGO Sea Shepherd denounced it as a "pillaging". It hopes that shocking images of the dead marine life will raise enough public awareness so that strong political decisions will be taken to combat overfishing.
From a distance, it looks like a long white streak of sea foam. At close range, the streak is comprised of the silvery bodies of some 100,000 dead fish, dumped back into the sea by Dutch-owned trawler FV Margiris, the world’s second-biggest fishing vessel. Macabre images of this carpet of dead fish went viral on social media when Sea Shepherd posted them on Thursday, as part of their Operation Ocean Killers in the Bay of Biscay on France's Atlantic coast.
Condemning the dumping as a “pillaging” of the sea, the NGO, which is dedicated to the protection of marine ecosystems, demanded answers from the French Minister of the Sea Annick Girardin. Girardin announced on Friday that she had asked for an administrative investigation to be opened into the incident.
The incident, which took place early on Thursday morning, was caused by a rupture in the trawler's net, said fishing industry group the European Pelagic Freezer-Trawlers Association (PFA), representing the owner of the Margiris. In a statement, PFA described it as an "accident" and a "very rare occurrence".
Sea Shepherd disputes this version of events, saying it is far from rare and simply an illegal discharge of more than 100,000 unwanted fish. The NGO hopes that the images will help to raise awareness among French citizens of the disastrous consequences of overfishing.
"This ship is used to this kind of 'fishing accident'. It has already been involved in discarding of unwanted catches," said Lamya Essemlali, the chairperson of Sea Shepherd France, to FRANCE 24. "What's more, we've already filmed other ships that also release thousands of dead fish in their wake. It is therefore an 'accident' that keeps happening a lot on these ships," she said.
"This ship is used to this kind of 'fishing accident'. It has already been involved in discarding of unwanted catches," said Lamya Essemlali, the chairperson of Sea Shepherd France, to FRANCE 24. "What's more, we've already filmed other ships that also release thousands of dead fish in their wake. It is therefore an 'accident' that keeps happening a lot on these ships," she said.
'French fishermen ‘think that the ocean belongs to them’
The Sea Shepherd France team had watched the ship arrive in the Bay of Biscay, Essemlali said. "We spotted the Margiris arriving on MarineTraffic.com, so we left the port of La Rochelle on Wednesday evening and headed straight towards it.” Their aim was to film the fishing operation, "to show the general public what industrial fishing by giant trawlers looks like”.
Nicknamed "the monster" by British media, the 6,200-tonne, 143-metre long Margiris was already the subject of a massive outcry in Australia, where it was banned after NGOs mobilised public opinion.
In 2019, UK environmentalists mounted a protest against its presence in British waters. "They did not succeed in banning it, because the United Kingdom was still part of the European Union at the time and did not have the room for manoeuvre that Australia had," said Essemlali, referring to a common fisheries policy that holds decisions must be taken at the European level. France 24 - link - Pauline Rouquette - link - Sea Shepherd - link - more like this - link
The Sea Shepherd France team had watched the ship arrive in the Bay of Biscay, Essemlali said. "We spotted the Margiris arriving on MarineTraffic.com, so we left the port of La Rochelle on Wednesday evening and headed straight towards it.” Their aim was to film the fishing operation, "to show the general public what industrial fishing by giant trawlers looks like”.
Nicknamed "the monster" by British media, the 6,200-tonne, 143-metre long Margiris was already the subject of a massive outcry in Australia, where it was banned after NGOs mobilised public opinion.
In 2019, UK environmentalists mounted a protest against its presence in British waters. "They did not succeed in banning it, because the United Kingdom was still part of the European Union at the time and did not have the room for manoeuvre that Australia had," said Essemlali, referring to a common fisheries policy that holds decisions must be taken at the European level. France 24 - link - Pauline Rouquette - link - Sea Shepherd - link - more like this - link
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