International renowned environmental organization, Greenpeace, has called for the arrest of the captain of the Japanese ship Koyu Maru 3, which Greenpeace caught fishing illegally in the Exclusive Economic Zone of the Cook Islands. Josua Turaganivalu, Oceans Campaigner of Greenpeace Australia Pacific on board the Esperanza, said that the Japanese fishing boat and other pirate fishing vessels are stealing fish for their own profit, depriving the people of the Cook Islands of a vital source of income.
The Greenpeace ship Esperanza, campaigning to end the destruction of the world’s oceans, encountered the Koyu Maru 3 hauling in its longline and catching tuna within Cook Islands waters, where they have no license to fish. Greenpeace demands the Japanese government order Koyu Maru 3, which is owned by Tokyo-based World Tuna Co Ltd, to stop its illegal fishing activities and sail to the nearest port for further investigation.
Pirate fishing fleets have costs more than US $9 billion dollars each year globally. A recent report estimated that pirate fishing in the Pacific accounted for an average of 36 percent of its total fisheries, much higher than the global average of 19 percent.
