The crew of French fishing vessel, Provence-Côte d’Azur II, has been rough as they have to face the heat of protest to save bluefin tuna. It is said that after sailing a total of 6,600 nautical miles – first to Cyprus, then the length of the Egyptian coast, to Malta, around the Balearics and then home – the Provence-Côte d’Azur II returned with 84 tonnes of bluefin tuna, a catch that will barely cover the costs of the voyage.
Donnarel, one of the crew, said that they found fish on the last day. He told that without that they would have been finished. Someone has to take a decision. Donnarel and his crew are at the sharp end of an increasingly bitter row: one that links globally known restaurants, top celebrities, huge international conglomerates, sushi shops and supermarkets across half the world to the livelihoods of a few thousand fishermen.
According to news report this month Sienna Miller, Elle Macpherson, Jemima Khan, Sting and others signed a letter to Nobu, a famous upmarket restaurant chain part-owned by Robert De Niro, threatening a boycott of their favourite haunt. Meanwhile, fishermen such as Donnarel are unimpressed by the celebrity-inspired pressure on their livelihoods.
Donnarel further said that tuna fishing has become politically incorrect and we are pariahs. Once it was fine to fish; now it isn’t. It is told that the French fishermen themselves are very defensive – angry with consumers, governments, conservationists and the EU.
