Giant Trawlers Devour the World's Fish

One of world's largest fishing vessels will soon head out from Seattle and begin fishing for pollack roe on the Russian side of the North Pacific. The American Monarch, a 340-ft factory trawler owned by American Seafoods of Seattle, is among the world's largest and most modern fishing vessels. In 1997 it was banned from fishing in Chilean waters by Chile's Supreme Court, amid concerns over its potential impacts on fisheries.

American Seafoods is a wholly owned subsidiary of AKER/RGI, a Norwegian company that sued Greenpeace and the Chilean fishermen's organization, CONAPACH, who had worked with Greenpeace to stop the destruction of Chile's fish population. The Chilean Supreme Court recently ruled in favor of CONAPACH and Greenpeace after AKER/RGI appealed an earlier court victory. With nowhere to fish, the Monarch has been docked in Seattle since last January, when Greenpeace hung a banner on the side of the vessel. Since then, the company has been trying to find other waters for the Monarch to fish in. On the East coast, Greenpeace also stopped another factory trawler, the Atlantic Star, by working with the small scale fishers, just like they did in Chile.

Not only is the American Monarch the newest factory trawler, but it's the most efficient, with the capability to process over a million pounds of fish per day. The Monarch will be fishing for pollack roe in the Sea of Okhotsk in the Western Bering Sea, where U.S. and Russian fisheries also target the same stock. All together, as many as 30 factory trawlers may end up fishing in that region--most of them owned by subsidiaries or entities related to AKER/RGI. The 1996 pollack quota may be exceeded by nearly 1.3 million tons when the count is finally tallied. Fish quotas are expected to be lowered in coming years due to aggressive overfishing by these giant floating factories.

The Monarch is headed for Russia because of connections that AKER/RGI has developed with the Russian government, and the slack regulations that allow factory trawlers to fish in this area despite scientific warnings that the fishery may not be able to sustain much more abuse. Not only is it likely to jeopardize Russian stocks, but U.S. stocks and the North Pacific ecosystem as a whole are at greater risk with the return of the Monarch.

Several North Pacific pollack stocks are already showing signs of stress. The Central Bering Sea has been closed to fishing since 1992, due to overfishing by factory trawlers. A glut of factory trawlers in the U.S. pollack fishery has created short, intense seasons with vast amounts of bycatch and waste, and dangerously high quotas. The decline of many marine mammals and seabird species in Alaska, most notably the endangered Steller sea lion, has paralleled the rise of factory trawling.

International concern is growing over the negative effects of factory trawlers on the marine environment. Fishers, environmentalists, and even the U.S. Congress have found common ground in opposing these global sea monsters. In Seattle, the local fishing fleet of smaller boats is very concerned about the addition of the Monarch to the region's fishery. For many fishers it will mean the end of their way of life.

Last year, Congress enacted a new measure to prohibit the return of factory trawlers to the herring and mackerel fisheries along the U.S. East Coast. The bill also revoked the permit of a new factory trawler to enter those fisheries, and stopped three former U.S. factory trawlers from returning to the U.S. to fish for Alaska pollock. The bill had strong support from both environmental and fishing communities. In September, Sen. Stevens (R-AK) introduced additional legislation to stop any new factory trawlers from entering U.S. fisheries and to commence the phase-out of the existing U.S. fleet.

Fish don't stand a chance against ships like the Monarch. And, given the global reach of factory trawlers, no fish are safe. So once again the political connections and the mobility of a factory trawler is allowing it go places where it is neither needed nor wanted. Whether these floating gluttons are in the Bering Sea, in the Atlantic, or the Pacific, they are affecting the ocean ecosystem and all sea life on this planet. To stand by and watch this happen is more criminal than trying to block the ships from going out to deplete our oceans of fish and other creatures. For more information, or to get involved with Greenpeace's campaign, contact Niaz Dorry, Greenpeace Fisheries Campaign, 9A Harbor Loop, Gloucester, MA 01930, 978-283-5893.