Greenpeace activists target Talley’s trawler at Port Nelson

Greenpeace activists targeted a Talley’s-owned fishing trawler at Port Nelson on Saturday morning, calling for an end to bottom trawling on seamounts.

Two activists anchored a raft alongside the trawler Amaltal Atlantis. In a statement, Greenpeace said activists in kayaks also attached a large banner to the hull of the vessel.

Greenpeace Aotearoa oceans campaigner Ellie Hooper said taking action was necessary to protect the ocean’s biodiversity.

“We can have a healthy and thriving ocean again, but we have to stop the worst types of fishing.”

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Hooper described seamounts as the “building blocks of ocean life, forming essential breeding grounds for fish and a home for unique species”.

“Fragile and slow growing coral live there, often called ‘the kauri of the deep’.”

When large weighted nets were dragged over seamounts “they don’t just catch fish, they bulldoze through everything in their path and net huge amounts of other species”, Hooper said.

However, Talley’s general manager of deep sea fishing Ben Holden said the views stated about the seafood sector by Greenpeace were not “reflective of reality”.

“They are highly exaggerated and designed to misinform and mislead the public around bottom trawling, which is a very tightly controlled and sustainable way of producing a healthy, high-quality food,” Holden said.

“Our industry is very concerned to ensure sustainability in all it does. The livelihoods of our staff, our companies and our consumers depend on ensuring we have a healthy fish population for life.”

Hooper said the commercial fishing industry often talked about how little of the ocean it impacted “but the ocean is not all created equal and seamounts are vital biodiversity hotspots that need preserving”.

In response to the Greenpeace action, Holden said that while Talley’s respected the right for people to air their opinions and protest, “we do not respect the right to put people, operations or property in danger”.

While the trawler was under a refuelling flag, Greenpeace activists had “interfered with Talley’s fuel protection measures, as well as the safety of crew and their own people by crossing over these barriers”.

“Our staff have no desire for any confrontation with Greenpeace and trust that they will not interfere with our vessel operations any further or put any people at risk of injury,” Holden said.

While Greenpeace had interrupted the fuelling operations, the company remained on its normal schedule.

Earlier, from aboard the raft, Jessica Desmond said the activists were there “to disrupt Talley’s activities”.

“Today, we’re calling on [Oceans and Fisheries Minister] David Parker to ban bottom trawling on these biodiversity hotspots,” Desmond said. “To protect the health of the ocean, bottom trawling on seamounts must stop.”

Greenpeace activists targeted another Talley’s-owned vessel in July 2021 in an early morning protest against bottom trawling.