Blacklisted fishing factory vessel
by Sea Shepherd Conservation Society 1 Jun 2018 14:33 UTC
Blacklisted fishing factory vessel © Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
The pressure is on to stop the Damanzaihao, a notorious blacklisted vessel, from leaving Peru with unpaid fines and resuming its slaughter of over a half million tons marine wildlife per year.
The Damanzaihao is the largest fish factory vessel in the world, capable of processing 547,000 tons of fish per year. As a result of the Damanzaihao's illicit fishing activities, the government of Peru issued a multi-million USD fine against the vessel in 2014. That debt remains outstanding and, while in port in Chimbote, the Damanzaihao has been polluting Peru's waters.
Despite these atrocities, the vessel has reflagged to Belize and was seeking authorization to slip out of port in the night and head to China. The Peruvian Government has denied the vessel's request to depart by issuing an order refusing clearance.
Sea Shepherd vessel M/V John Paul DeJoria was recently in Peruvian waters, investigating and gathering intelligence to assist the Peruvian Government. Sea Shepherd, together with its government allies in Peru, are working to ensure that the Damanzaihao's efforts to exploit the oceans are thwarted in the long-term.
This vessel has been declared an Illegal, Unregulated, and Unreported ship by the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organization, as it has been found operating with illegal practices. A common infraction of vessels like this is the non-declaration or underreporting of bycatch.
An estimated 300,000 whales, dolphins and other cetaceans (including endangered species!), as well as 50 million sharks are killed as bycatch each year. It is critical that large, illegally operating vessels such as the Damanzaihao are stopped.