The Steve Irwin is one badass ship. As the flagship vessel of an environmental crusade known as Operation Driftnet, it’s well worthy of such distinctions. Steve Irwin’s mission is simple: track down and confront Indian Ocean fishing vessels that are still using illegal driftnets.
“Driftnets were banned in 1992 by a United Nations moratorium,” says campaign leader and Steve Irwin’s Captain, Siddharth Chakravarty. “The nations of the world were concerned 24 years ago about the negative impact of this form of fishing. Driftnets didn’t have a place in the world’s oceans then and they don’t today. Our role is to ensure the ban is enforced.”
The campaign is run by, Sea Shepherd, an international marine wildlife conservation non-profit that uses “direct-action tactics.” And there are probably few things more qualified as “direct action” than sending a crew to sea to hunt down illegal drift netting fishermen. The group has introduced their campaign with a graphic video of one of the first ships they encountered, reeling in their driftnet to find some sad and even shocking catches: Five kilometers of driftnet containing the bodies of 321 bodies. Everything from fish to sharks to dolphins and seals were wrapped in the indiscriminate nets, reminding us why the UN’s ban needs to be properly enforced. Chakravarty says one fleet they’ve confronted is violating at least ten international violations, all without consequence in these waters.
In 1993 the U.S. Coast Guard started patrolling the North Pacific with the same mission. According to them illegal driftnet vessel sightings have steadily declined since, finding more than 160 ships engaged in illegal practices between 2000 and 2009. Since 2010 they say they’ve only spotted or seized five ships.
Those are massive steps toward sustainable fishing. Maybe we’ll see Sea Shepherd make the same impact in the Indian Ocean.
