CAPTAIN PAUL WATSON FOUNDATION LAUNCHES JOINT CAMPAIGN TO ADDRESS ALARMING MARINE WILDLIFE CRISIS IN THE BAY OF BISCAY
Hull, UK – Esteemed ocean activist Captain Paul Watson and his crew of international volunteers will be embarking on a critical mission off the coast of France aboard the Foundation’s flagship, conservation vessel John Paul DeJoria, and Sea Shepherd France’s recently commissioned Walrus, to challenge the destructive practices of industrial fishing trawlers with Operation Ocean Killers, and expose the grave environmental impact they pose.
In a joint collaboration with Sea Shepherd France, the crew will head into the treacherous waters of the Bay of Biscay to highlight the catastrophic threat posed by supertrawlers to the marine ecosystem in the region. These colossal factory ships are equipped with advanced processing facilities and massive storage capabilities. This enables them to stay at sea for extended periods, ravaging the ocean through the use of huge nets that capture vast quantities of fish, causing irreparable environmental damage. The deliberate removal of individual species such as herring, blue whiting or mackerel in such huge quantities creates a catastrophic domino effect on other species that rely on them as a food source. These giant nets also result in unintentional bycatch that often includes endangered species. These ocean killers and their unsustainable fishing practices are beyond effective regulation, and should be outlawed.
“This word ‘sustainable’ is now just a marketing term and if a company wants to sell fish to the public that may be concerned about conservation, they simply label everything they catch as sustainable,” says Captain Paul Watson.
Join the Captain Paul Watson Foundation and Sea Shepherd France to support Operation Ocean Killers as they strive to safeguard the Bay of Biscay and its unique marine wildlife from the devastation of supertrawlers and the detrimental impact their unregulated practices have on the marine ecosystem. The vessels are set to depart at the end of Octobe
ABOUT CAPTAIN PAUL WATSON FOUNDATION: The Captain Paul Foundation is a non-profit marine conservation organization established in 2022 by Captain Paul Watson, a world-renowned and respected leader in environmental issues, co-founder of Greenpeace, and founder of Sea Shepherd and Omar Todd, a tech entrepreneur. Its mission is to end the destruction of habitat and slaughter of wildlife in the world’s oceans to conserve and protect ecosystems and species. Captain Paul Watson Foundation uses innovative direct-action tactics to investigate, document, and act when necessary to expose and confront illegal activities on the high seas. Visit www.paulwatsonfoundation.org for more information.
ABOUT OPERATION OCEAN KILLERS: Operation Ocean Killers will be highlighting the exploitative fishing practices of super trawlers, which are giant factory ships notorious for negative environmental impact through fish stock depletion and bycatch. This campaign, in joint partnership with Sea Shepherd France, has been established to challenge supertrawlers off the coast of France in order to protect the region’s marine life from further decimation.
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