Navigation for Pacific Waves
Taiwanese fishing vessel escorted home after Greenpeace bust
Greenpeace activists discovered a falsified log book and almost 100 kilos of shark fins when they boarded the vessel on the high seas in the north west Pacific earlier this month.
Greenpeace approaches the longline vessel Shuen De Ching No 888 which the organisation says offloaded its catch to another ship to avoid monitoring mechanisms. Photo/ Paul Hilton
Shark tails found in the freezer of the Shuen De Ching No.888. Greenpeace says they counted 620 fins and 42 tail fins in the holds when they boarded. Photo/ Paul Hilton
The Rainbow Warrior pulls up alongside the Sheun De Ching. Greenpeace says when the Taiwanese patrol boat boarded the vessel after the bust it found only 110 fins compared to the 620 fins the activists found. Photo/Paul Hilton
Greenpeace says the Taiwan Fisheries Agency is escorting vessel back to Taiwan where the ship faces suspension from operations for up to a year. Photo/ Paul Hilton
Greenpeace says 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. Photo/Paul Hilton
The Nauru government says it banned transhipments following the Greenpeace bust. Transhipments allows a longliner to offload its catch to a bigger mother ship out at sea and avoid monitoring measures at ports. Pictured are the crew on the Shuen De Ching. Photo/ Paul Hilton
Sharkfins found in the vessel's freezer. Greenpeace says expert analysis shows many of the fins came from the vulnerable silky shark, a species protected by the Pacific Tuna Commission due to their plummeting numbers. Photo/ Paul Hilton
A yellowfin tuna is hauled on board the fishing vessel Shuen De Ching. Photo/ Paul Hilton.
Tuna in the Shuen De Ching's freezer. Photo/ Paul Hilton
Greenpeace activists on board the Shuen De Ching. Photo/ Paul Hilton
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