Steve Irwin Crew Free 800 Bluefin Tuna!

Operation Blue Rage: Day Ten of the Mediterranean Patrol

Thursday, June 17th, 2010
Location: Off the Coast of Libya

 At 1600 hours, a five person dive crew entered one of two cages being towed by the Libyan seiner Cesare Rustico.

As the Steve Irwin held off the Cesare Rustico and the Maltese support ship Rosaria Tuna, the crew successfully cut and freed some 700 to 800 bluefin tuna.

A large percentage of the tuna were juveniles. Based on the position of the cages and the fact that the entire Mediterranean bluefin tuna fishery closed at midnight on June 14th, it is therefore clear that the bluefin catch held by these two vessels was illegal.

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is not a protest organization.  Sea Shepherd is an anti-poaching organization and these vessels are poachers.

A Sea Shepherd cameraman filmed the release of the fish from the centre of the cage and the swimmers confirmed that all 700 to 800 tuna inside the enclosure were freed.

“They shot out of that net like racehorses,” said Canadian cameraman Simon Ager (40).

After freeing the bluefin tuna, the Steve Irwin headed north and out of the waters claimed by Libya.

Earlier, when the Steve Irwin requested permission from the Cesare Rustico to inspect the fish in the net for juveniles, the request was refused. The Steve Irwin responded by nosing up to the net. Suddenly, the seiner Rosaria Tuna rammed the Steve Irwin in the port stern area and slid alongside as one of the fishermen began violently slashing at the crew on deck with a long, hooked pole. The Steve Irwin crew responded by tossing bottles of foul smelling rotten butter onto the deck, at which point, the fishermen retreated inside and the Rosaria Tuna backed off. After that, the Sea Shepherd crew dove into the net to identify the size and age of the bluefin tuna within. Once it was clearly established that a high percentage were juveniles, Sea Shepherd divers freed the tuna.   

“It is our position that the bluefin tuna we freed from that cage held a large number of juveniles and that the fish were caught after the official closure of the season. It is also our position that the fish that we freed exceeded the quota,” said Captain Paul Watson.

 

Sea Shepherd’s Legal Justification for Intervention:

Considering the very bad weather in the zone located north of Tripoli until the day of the closing the season on June 14th, it is impossible that theses catches happened during the season of the legal fishing. There is therefore no doubt that these tuna had been taken after the closure.

Besides that, considering the location where they were captured and the place where the tugboat was, it is impossible that the fish were taken four days ago. On a course to Malta at 25 miles per day, this ship should have been much further north if that was the case.

These tuna had been taken under a Libyan quota by eight Libyan seiners, according to the Captain of the Cesare Rustico. However, the entire Libyan quota is 725 tons and it has most likely already been reached, just like the other countries, whose quota was reached as early as June 9th.

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