Greenpeace: help save the Ross Sea

Greenpeace has released a report titled "Saving the last ocean: How seafood markets can help to save Antarctica's Ross Sea". The report details the destructive fishing practices used to catch Antarctic toothfish, known as Chilean sea bass in North America, and exposes how the fishing industry is engaged in a "gold-rush" for toothfish in the remote waters of the Southern Ocean. Greenpeace is calling on seafood buyers, restaurant owners and chefs not to buy any toothfish, and to support efforts to keep the Ross Sea off limits to fishing and industrial activity by designating it a marine reserve. Underscoring the Ross Sea's critical need for protection, a group of leading Antarctic scientists has begun to refer to it as "the last ocean" � a term referencing the Ross Sea's relative health when compared to other areas of the planet's oceans. However, this status is in jeopardy as a result of the fishing industry intrusion into these previously mostly unexploited waters. "With ninety percent of the populations of the oceans' large predatory fish having been wiped out by a fishing industry operating with a mining mentality, fishing vessels are now going to the most remote waters on earth to catch fish that cannot withstand this pressure for long," said Nina Thuellen, Greenpeace International Seafood Markets project leader. Recent scientific studies show that the disappearance of Ross Sea killer whales is linked with the decrease of Antarctica toothfish stocks, which in turn coincides with the industrial fishery of these fish. Many of the world's most esteemed Antarctic scientists have appealed to consumers to refrain from purchasing toothfish products, regardless of whether or not the product in question has been "certified" by an eco-label. "Antarctic toothfish are the largest fish in the Antarctic and take a long time to reach maturity. These two characteristics make the fish species highly vulnerable to fishing with a high risk of being fished to extinction," said Jim Barnes, Executive Director of the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition (ASOC). "The United States is the world's largest market for toothfish, and as such we have caused a tremendous amount of harm to the Southern Ocean. If we are to reverse this trend, US seafood retailers must immediately discontinue all toothfish products and support international efforts to designate the Ross Sea a marine reserve," noted Casson Trenor, Senior Markets Campaigner from Greenpeace USA. A staggering 15 out of the United States 20 largest retailers continue to sell toothfish (as Chilean sea bass). However, some US seafood retailers � such as Ahold USA, A&P, and Trader Joe's � have stopped selling Chilean sea bass recently. In other countries, such as Canada, with recent changes to seafood sourcing policies, the only major supermarket chain still selling toothfish after September 2010 will be Sobeys. Greenpeace is currently campaigning against the Costco Wholesale in both the U.S. and Canada, as one of the largest retailers that continues to sell Chilean sea bass. To help ensure the long-term sustainability of fisheries and marine ecosystems, Greenpeace advocates the creation of a worldwide network of marine reserves and fisheries management that is based on a precautionary, ecosystem-based approach.