Follow Greenpeace Australia Pacific’s Climate Justice Ship Tour

“The deep sea mining industry was getting ready to plunge its mechanical teeth into the ocean floor, but their bet backfired as they have seriously underestimated the importance of science and equity over a merely speculative and profit-driven venture. The cracks are appearing in what has to date been a fortress for industry interests as a result of increasing public awareness and mobilisation. It’s clear that most governments do not want their legacy to be green lighting ocean destruction”, said Greenpeace International Oceans campaigner Louisa Casson.

The decisions adopted by the ISA Council on 21 July effectively mean that a majority of countries — including Brazil, Costa Rica, Chile, Vanuatu, Germany and Switzerland — did not yield to pressure from the industry — supported by nations such as Norway and Mexico — to fast-track rules for deep sea mining. Industry frontrunner The Metals Company saw its share price plummet as markets reacted to the news.[1]  However, the ISA still failed to close a legal loophole for companies to start mining next year. 

At the ISA Assembly this week, pro-mining nations reacted by attempting to silence the growing resistance to deep sea mining in the very place it’s up for negotiation: As of Friday morning, China is still opposing a proposal from Latin American, Pacific and European governments to make space for debate. Such attempts at restricting opposition to deep sea mining went beyond the negotiating table, as the ISA Secretariat, frequently accused of being too close to the industry, restricted journalists and clamped down on peaceful protest during the meetings. 

“Investors looking at what happened in the past week will only see a desperate industry trying to maintain the illusion it has any future. If deep sea mining was truly as sustainable as miners claim and their hearts were truly invested in helping the climate crisis, why block dissent? It’s become clear during these weeks that irresponsibly pressing ahead to mine the deep sea in the middle of a climate crisis is not only reckless but politically toxic. The world is fighting back against deep sea mining – there’s a big fight ahead, but the fight is on,” Casson continued. 

The world is waking up to the significance of the threat from deep sea mining. The calls of Indigenous Peoples are being joined by people across the world: 37 financial institutions, over 750 scientists and the fishing industry have also called for a halt. 

“In the Pacific, the ocean is dear to us. It informs our lives and who we are as a people. The spectre of deep-sea mining raises many concerns that remind us of the legacies our region has felt from other colonial extractive industries and the barbarous nuclear testing era. We call on world leaders to be better stewards of our ocean by joining the call for a moratorium,” said Joey Tau, Campaigner with the Pacific Network on Globalisation (PANG) based in Suva, Fiji. 

Greenpeace believes that the way to stop this industry is through a moratorium that focuses on putting protection in place and that requires more governments to speak up to safeguard the ocean. 

I was guided to be where I am, in this moment – by my tupuna (ancestors). Through the journey’s I’ve been through from pepi (baby), to tamariki (child), to rangatahi (youth and young adult), to who I am today – is all in guidance and a natural process for us, as Māori.

I’m here to learn, grow, and stand in solidarity with Pacific voices, and indigenous Voices heading to the International Seabed Authority Council Meeting. I’m here to break down boundaries between complicated places and the people they insist on keeping out. It’s our birth right to be here, and the birth right of our people to be included. I’m here to have a presence in these international spaces. I’m here to be a shit stirrer. I’m here to practice playful and intentional protest, and I’m here to be guarded and guided. We deserve to be in the room.

Without karakia (prayer) and the karanga (a call or summon) from the land that you stand on, you are not manuhiri (guest), you are an intruder. If you don’t adhere to the practice of the Pacific, you are both undermining the mana (power or authority) of the people and you’re putting yourself in danger.

Papatūānuku (Earth mother) shows us that they know how to cleanse themselves of mamae (hurt or pain). They know cyclones will wash away homes and they know the extent of flooding. Papatūānuku know’s the scale that DSM will have on themselves. Papatuanuku will still remain, but our livelihood, our connection with the whenua (land), can and will change drastically if things continue to be ignored.
You can’t karanga (sacred call) to an empty marae (meeting grounds) and you can’t mihi to a broken moana. We can’t be Māori without the moana (ocean), we are not Māori without the moana!

Our stake is our karakia.
Our stake is our hononga ki te whenua.
Hoki mai te moana. Hoki mai te whenua.

Our stake is our cultural place.
Our stake is our connection to the land.
Give back our ocean. Give back our land.

Separate from deep sea mining, we are bearing the impacts of colonisation and as we continue to heal, we continue to see high incarceration rates, high results of mental illness, with abuse through drugs and alcohol and violence, the failure of our education system and health system, deep sea mining will push our people further away from thriving in iwi (tribe) , hapū (sub tribe), whānau (family).

It’s prolonging our ability to heal, it’s sending us on a voyage far away from liberation, it’s translating our culture into words we can not understand. Our rangatahi (young person or young adult) already have to learn about the trauma of their parents and grandparents, let this not be another thing that we have to pass onto them our descendants.

Let us pass on our beautiful stories, our whakapapa (genealogy), our rongoa (traditional Māori healing), not more horror. Let this be a chance to tell stories with aroha and peace. This is our rangatiratanga (right to exercise authority), this is our mana motuhake (self determination), and we’ll never push that aside.

We can not be pushed aside.

From toothed whales such as orcas to the largest living animal on our planet, the blue whale. It’s no secret that we just really love whales.

To help celebrate World Whale Day, here are just some moments over the past 50 years of Greenpeace fighting to protect the gentle giants of the sea.

1. Greenpeace’s first anti-whaling campaign

Rex Weyler (standing) with Bob Hunter on the right, as the Phyllis Cormack and crew return to Vancouver from the 1975 whale campaign. The Vega drifts in distance, to the left.

In the summer of 1975, Greenpeace set sail on its first anti-whaling campaign in the North Pacific Ocean.

Here the brave crew confronted the activities of the Soviet whaling fleet onboard Grenepeace’s first vessel, the Phyllis Cormack. 

2. Helping to establish a moratorium on commercial whaling

Four Greenpeace climbers abseil down the front of the Auckland Sheraton hotel where an IWC meeting was taking place.

Throughout the 1970’s, Greenpeace continued to shine a spotlight on the whaling industry in a way that the world had never seen before.

And after a decade of committed campaigning to ‘Save the Whales’, the International Whaling Commission (IWC) voted on a moratorium on commercial whaling in 1982 – marking the virtual end of large-scale whaling around the world.

3. Taking action against seismic testing

Greenpeace action in Australia against oil giant BHP’s seismic testing in 1991. Thanks to the effort of the crew, seismic testing was prevented from continuing on this occasion.

Unfortunately, Woodside Energy’s current deep-sea gas proposal on the Burrup Hub is not the first time Greenpeace has helped fight off seismic testing in Australian waters.

In 1991, the Rainbow Warrior confronted fossil fuel giant BHP Biliton’s ship, WESTERN ODYSSEY, which was seismic testing for offshore oil at the time.

4. And against destructive fishing methods

Greenpeace activists hang a 30 meter long drift net on the side of a school ship in 1998

In 1998, Greenpeace activists joined 35 Greenteam children onboard their school ship on the River Danube, Vienna, to protest against harmful drift nets.

The Greenteam joined activists in tying paper models of different kinds of bycatch, including dolphins, whales and turtles.

5. Defending the Southern Ocean’s whale sanctuary

Inflatables from the Greenpeace ship MY Esperanza hold banners and utilise all measures available during the 2005 Southern Ocean Tour in an attempt to bring the whaling hunt to an early end, and make it the last time the Sanctuary is breached by whalers.

By 2005, Greenpeace continued to document the undermining of the moratorium on commercial whaling, and the Southern Ocean’s whale sanctuary which was established in 1994.

During the Southern Ocean Tour, Greenpeace ship MY Esperanza fought to expose the continued involvement of companies in the whaling industry.

6. People vs. Oil in the Great Australian Bight

South Australian community representatives and activists tell Norwegian oil major Statoil their oil rigs are not welcome in the Great Australian Bight in 2018

In 2020, Norwegian oil giant Statoil-Equinor pulled the plug on its plans to drill for oil in the fragile Great Australian Bight, one of the most important whale sanctuaries on Earth.

This historic win was thanks to relentless campaigning by coastal communities, Indigenous traditional owners, NGOs, surfers, the seafood industry, tourism operators, and other local businesses.

…Hooray for people power!

7. Fighting for a Global Plastics Treaty

Greenpeace activists present a six-meter tall plastic sculpture of whales in Zagreb in 2018

We know that plastic is wreaking havoc in our oceans – and unfortunately that means for whales too.

That’s why Greenpeace has been actively involved in making sure our precious marine life has a voice when it comes to plastic waste.

Greenpeace is currently campaigning for a legally-binding Global Plastics Treaty, which would limit plastic production and use for our human rights, our biodiversity, and our climate.

8. AND a Global Oceans Treaty!

Greenpeace volunteers hold up large paper panels saying “Stop illegal Fishing! Protect the Oceans” in South Korea in 2019

Protecting whales and our oceans go hand-in-hand, that’s why Greenpeace is campaigning for a strong Global Oceans Treaty that would see one-third of the world’s oceans protected from industrial activity by 2030.

This will build resilience against a changing climate, and ensure species (including whales) rebound and flourish into the future.

9. Protect the Oceans Research Expedition

Scientist, Dr Kirsten Thompson, lead scientist on the Arctic Sunrise uses a hydrophone to listen for whales in 2020 in Antarctica

Back in 2020, Greenpeace returned to the Antarctic during the last stage of the polar-to-polar Protect The Oceans Expedition.

Teaming up with a group of scientists, Greenpeace helped investigate and document the impacts the climate crisis is already having in this area.

10. Whales not Woodside

Greenpeace volunteer holds a banner in 1000m deep water in Gascoyne Marine Park, Western Australia in 2022

Right now, Greenpeace is embarking on its next fight to protect whales in Western Australia, where fossil fuel giant Woodside Energy wants to commence seismic blasting as part of its proposed deep-sea gas project in the Burrup Hub.

It’s the most polluting fossil fuel proposal in Australia today. And if completed, Woodside would produce gas until 2070.

Get involved in the fight for #WhalesNotWoodside today.

Soon afterwards the oil rig, approximately 20 miles short of the drill site, made a U-turn and is now heading back on the same track that it came from when it left Cromarty in Scotland.

The turnaround followed a morning of cat and mouse with Greenpeace.

In the early hours activists attempted to re-board the BP rig for fourth time, but the BP vessel towing the rig sped away from them.

Greenpeace International activists did not give up, and pursued BP, overtaking the rig around 1pm. The oil rig is currently still moving back on its original track.

The standoff between climate activists and BP is now in its eighth day as activists continue to stop BP’s plans to drill a new well in the Vorlich oil field, which would give BP access to 30 million barrels of crude.

It comes after Pope Francis warned oil bosses gathered in Rome on Friday June 14 that when ‘faced with a climate emergency, we must take action accordingly, in order to avoid perpetrating a brutal act of injustice towards the poor and future generations.’

Greenpeace UK executive director John Sauven said:

“BP’s oil rig has done a U-turn and we urge chief executive Bob Dudley to do the same. BP must stop drilling for new oil and switch to renewables. 

“Pope Francis is absolutely right about the climate emergency. We must take action to save future generations from a ‘brutal injustice’. And we are.

“BP told the Pope on Friday that they want to find the answer to the climate problem. Wherever that answer may lie it’s certainly not in drilling new wells to access 30 million barrels of oil at the bottom of the North Sea.

“This is why BP will face opposition wherever they plan to drill for more oil, from the North Sea to the Arctic and from the mouth of the Amazon to the Gulf of Mexico. We have tried letters, meetings, petitions – none of that worked. Now we’re going to stand in BP’s way to prevent further harm to people at the sharp end of the climate crisis.

“In the long run, this is a confrontation BP can’t win. They are in it for their profits, we’re in it for our planet’s future. BP must start ditching the climate-wrecking side of its business and switch to renewables.”

Eleven Greenpeace UK activists have been arrested so far in the course of the week-long occupation and five were still in custody as of 3pm today [SUN 16]. Three freelance photographers have also been arrested but subsequently released.

Despite BP claiming that its business is compatible with the Paris climate agreement, Greenpeace argues BP’s operations are in direct opposition to efforts to prevent catastrophic climate change. Evidence for this includes:

-Despite scientists warning that existing oil and gas reserves already exceed what we can safely burn, BP is seeking to expand its operations in the Gulf of Mexico while welcoming President Trump’s move to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drillers;

-BP is outspending other oil majors on efforts to lobby against climate action. An investigation by Unearthed revealed BP successfully lobbied the Trump administration to weaken regulations that would have prevented the release of millions of tonnes of the potent greenhouse gas methane;

-BP capital expenditure remains heavily skewed towards fossil fuels. In 2018 it spent around $16 billion adding to oil and gas reserves, with $500 million – just over 3% –  being spent on alternatives to fossil fuels. As Bob Dudley admitted to the Washington Post: “If someone said, ‘Here’s $10bn to invest in renewables,’ we wouldn’t know how to do it”.

ENDS

Photo and video regularly updated here:

https://media.greenpeace.org/collection/27MZIFJ82ALXR

Contact:

Greenpeace UK Press Office: press.uk@greenpeace.org, +44 7506 512442, +4420 7865 8255

Our planet is facing a major plastics epidemic. National Geographic has estimated that we’ve produced over 8.3 billion metric tons of plastic in the past 50 years, with most of these being single-use only. With 90% of our plastics reported not to be recycled, it’s clear we need to do much more to solve this issue.

Here in Australia, we’re constantly surrounded by single-use plastics. They exist in our fridges as food wrapping, in our coffee shops and restaurants as cups and straws, and even in our bathrooms in products like q-tips and sanitary packaging. It seems everywhere you go, people cannot escape this sea of disposable plastics.

So what’s the real problem with this enormous amount of single use plastic (besides the energy intensive way it’s produced and role in escalating landfill)? Where it ends up.

Single-use plastics have been found in the deepest and most secluded parts of our oceans. Spread by currents until they are broken down into microplastics, these items are almost impossible to remove and pose a grave risk to precious ecosystems. Research has found that nearly 30% of turtles and a whopping 90% of seabirds have consumed plastic, preventing proper digestion and risking the lives of these animals.

So what can you do to help?

Actually a lot!

Every single person can make a difference in this problem, especially when we act together. From little switches to collective action, here are a few of the ways you can help end single use plastics for good:

1. BYO Bag

In 2018, the existence of the plastic grocery bag at supermarkets and retail stores is confusing to say the least. Green bags, reusable totes and hessian bags are easy and inexpensive alternatives that really make a huge difference. Choosing to opt out of plastic bags by yourself is great, but bag bans are even better! Use your voice to demand that NSW – the last state left without a single-use plastic bag ban – finally bans the bag.

2. Forget the Plastic Bag Bin Liner

Plastic bags have been used to line bins for ages but there are a bunch of better alternatives! Put your newspapers to use or go no liner and instead just wash out your bin regularly. For more tips visit our previous blog here.

3. Ditch the Straw – These suckers are a big problem.

Plastic straws are a huge risk for our environment, particularly our fishy friends. With such startling figures of single use plastics found inside aquatic animals, fish and seabirds, doesn’t it make sense to just ditch them completely? Try instead just using the cup or if you are a fan of the straw, try a metal one. While we’re on the subject, it’s important to note that some folk require plastic straws for their independence and wellbeing.

4. Upcycle and Reuse

With recycling proving a less than perfect solution to our plastic woes, why not try upcycling or reusing your plastic products? Upcycling is a great way to get a second, third or fourth use out of your plastic products, especially bottles and containers. You could use your large drink bottles to hold plants in your garden or use your empty body butter container as a jewellery holder. The possibilities are endless with this crafty practice!

5. Start a Neighbourhood Garden

Growing your own food isn’t only fun, but it eliminates needless plastic packaging waste. Neighbourhood gardens are fun and help save our planet so why not start one with your community?

6. Sign a Petition – there is power in every pen! (or keyboard)

Petitions have the potential to mobilise people en masse, and harness the collective force of people power. Ever heard someone say one person can’t make a difference? Well they were wrong, at least partially. One person acting individually is impactful, but when that one person unites with a group to act collectively, it’s immensely powerful. This is exactly what a petition can do -showing a mass of voices speaking together for action.

7. Email a CEO or Politician

We believe that the most effective way of making significant and sustainable change is to focus on instruments of institutional power in our society. CEOs and politicians have the unique ability to make change on a systems level. For CEOs, this power is over their corporations which they can change to better protect our environment. For politicians, like your local MP, this power is over our legal system where they can enact laws that support a greener future. So the next time you see something that needs fixing, send an email and get the ball rolling!

8. Attend a Protest or Rally – it’s not all hugging trees

Just like petitions, rallies and protests have a special role in any environmental movement because they unite people together in collective action. Protests not only make you feel like you are part of a greater group of people working towards a common cause but they make a real statement!

9. Donate

Organisations like Greenpeace are powered by the support of people just like you and me. As a 100% independent campaigning organisation that doesn’t accept money from any government, political party, or corporation, our movement relies on donations from everyday people to function. By donating to Greenpeace, you are enabling our fight to address climate change and end single-use plastics.

10. Become an Activist

Activists are everyday superheroes -people who courageously choose to fight back against environmental injustices and strive to make a change. As an activist you can work within a network to bring campaigns to life with bold actions and lead others in the cause. Despite what you might think, activists don’t all scale buildings and climb up things (even though at times they do). Activists are not all super fit and daring. Activists are those among us who dedicate their time and unique skills to the cause. You can join our network of Greenpeace volunteers here.

Personal changes like going plastic-free at home makes a difference, but in order to bring about change for our planet on a large scale, we need to work together to demand structural change. Unless we work together, we’re fighting an uphill battle against a system that’s designed to pollute our environment. The plastic problem is bigger than one person – it’s bigger than a group of people. To end single-use plastics we need to mobilise as a collective movement.

It’s not what we wanted to find. When Greenpeace set sail to the Antarctic earlier this year, we were going to look for the incredible wildlife – tottering penguins, majestic whales, soaring seabirds – that call the Antarctic Ocean home.

But even in these incredibly remote waters, we couldn’t escape from that scourge of our seas which is making all the headlines: plastic pollution.

Analysis now shows that microplastics and chemicals were present, respectively, in the water and snow samples that we took in the Antarctic during our recent expedition. This reveals that even the ‘world’s last wilderness’ is contaminated with microplastic waste and persistent hazardous chemicals.

Some of the pollution was immediately visible: our crew saw waste from the fishing industry floating in the waters, such as buoys, nets and tarpaulins drifting between icebergs. We took these items out of the water when we came across them. But, as this discovery of microplastics shows, the problem is so much bigger than just the visible rubbish – and it needs to be tackled at source.

Plastic has now been found in all corners of our oceans, from the north pole to the south pole, and even in the deepest point of the ocean. It’s previously been thought that the ocean currents around the Antarctic act as a kind of buffer zone, protecting the region from the plastic that is polluting the rest of the world’s oceans. While it is possible that some of the microplastics we found came from local sources (like land-based sources or shipping), some studies now suggest that microplastics could be coming from further afield.

       Microplastic sampling in Antarctic waters from aboard the Arctic Sunrise. 

The chemicals that we detected in snow samples also show how pervasive humanity’s impact can be. These chemicals are widely used in many industrial processes and consumer products, and have been linked to reproductive and developmental issues in wildlife. The snow samples gathered included freshly-fallen snow, suggesting the hazardous chemicals were deposited from the atmosphere.

Our snow sampling and water trawling were an important part of the science work that Greenpeace carried out during our three month expedition in the Antarctic. While it’s not the first time microplastics have been found in the Antarctic, Greenpeace’s report confirms the significant and measurable amount of plastic pollution in this area.

Our analysis provides valuable new information to deepen our understanding about the problem of plastic pollution in our oceans – and emphasises why we need urgent action to tackle the problem at source, in order to protect our oceans and marine life.

That means taking action on land and at sea to protect our ocean. Across the world, we need to stop the flow of plastic into the ocean by calling on companies to reduce the amount of plastic being produced and urging governments to introduce measures that can help end the era of single-use plastic.

Gentoo penguins are pictured on Greenwich Island, part of the South Shetland Island group, Antarctica. 

It also means creating safe havens at sea, which are off-limits to human activity, to allow animals to recover from the pressures they’re facing. This year, governments have the opportunity to create an Antarctic Ocean Sanctuary, protecting an area five times the size of Germany. 1.6 million people around the world are backing the call for this huge ocean sanctuary. Finding plastic and chemical pollution in the Antarctic only raises the stakes and increases the pressure on governments to protect it.

TAKE ACTION TO END THE DEADLY CYCLE OF SINGLE-USE PLASTICS:

DONATE TO STOP PLASTIC POLLUTION

SIGN THE PETITION

In this new Antarctic campaign, Greenpeace is seeking to emulate one of its most stunning victories. Nearly three decades ago, environmental activists, scientists, celebrities, and the French and Australian governments succeeded in convincing the parties to the Antarctic Treaty to adopt a comprehensive environmental protection agreement for the entire continent. It was one of the international environmental movement’s greatest achievements. How many other international agreements can you think of that are pre-emptive, rather than reacting to damage already done, and quite literally continental in scale?

Greenpeace’s current campaign for an Antarctic Ocean Sanctuary is building on this remarkable history. It has many of the same hallmarks: penguins dot the streets of major cities, petitions circulate social media, environmental lobbyists attend Antarctic Ocean Commission meetings, Greenpeace’s ship the Arctic Sunrise has just returned from an Antarctic expedition, and celebrities like Javier Bardem, Alison Sudol, and David Harbour, who plays Chief of Police Jim Hopper in Stranger Things, have joined the cause. So Could Hopper help Greenpeace save the Antarctic Ocean? Stranger things have happened.

The history of the original campaign that this one imitates so closely has largely been forgotten. But it’s worth remembering today, both as Greenpeace seeks to evoke its spirit and as a reminder, in such desperate times, that good things can happen when it comes to environmental protection.

In the early 1980s, the countries that governed Antarctica under the 1959 Antarctic Treaty began negotiations to open the continent to mining and oil drilling. Environmentalists leapt into action. Working under the umbrella of the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition (ASOC), environmental activists – including many from Greenpeace – began campaigning for a ‘World Park’ in Antarctica and a complete ban on mining. For six years, parading penguins and penguins on stilts became a familiar sight to the negotiators and the world’s press as activists protested at Antarctic Treaty meetings held all over the world, while their colleagues lobbied the delegates on the inside.

Much like today – but without the added benefit of social media – Greenpeace and ASOC rose international awareness about the threat mining posed to Antarctica through international petitions, advertisements in popular magazines, books and pamphlets. In the mid-1980s, Greenpeace launched its own expeditions to the Antarctic, taking a small team down to Ross Island at Cape Evans and building their own World Park Base. Greenpeace scientists and activists worked in extremely hostile conditions to build the most environmentally friendly base ever constructed on the continent. They did their own scientific research and ‘monitored’ existing bases to expose some of their appalling environmental practices, sharing photographs of the open trash heaps and leaking fuel drums that were strewn around bases like the USA’s McMurdo Station. If the states negotiating an agreement to open Antarctica to mining couldn’t even be trusted to enforce their own environmental standards, Greenpeace asked, how can we trust them to regulate oil drilling?

Despite all these efforts and the significant public attention they were drawing, in 1988, the Parties to the Antarctic Treaty adopted the Convention on the Regulation of Antarctic Minerals Resource Activities. If that agreement had come into force, it would have eventually opened the continent to mining. But it never did.

In Australia, Greenpeace and ASOC activists had spent years on a domestic campaign. They mobilized their huge Australian membership to write thousands of postcards to their local MPs. They signed petitions, and increased awareness about the fact that the Australian government, which had been so focused on environmentally friendly policies at home, had helped negotiate an agreement that would open the Australian Antarctic Territory – 42% of the continent – to mining and oil drilling.

In 1989, the Australian Prime Minister, Bob Hawke, announced that Australia could not support the Antarctic Minerals Convention. In subsequent years, Hawke has claimed sole credit for saving Antarctica from mining. While the PM’s decision was crucial, and his motives were genuine, he does a disservice to Australian environmental activists by leaving them out of the story. Without the World Park campaign, Hawke would never have succeeded.

Hawke also received significant help from Greenpeace in another way. As the campaign against ratifying the Minerals Convention was gaining momentum in Australia, World Park activists succeeded in recruiting one of the most famous men in the world to their cause: the French explorer and adventurer Captain Jacques-Yves Cousteau.

The Cousteau Society started a petition against the Minerals Convention, and in less than a year had 1.5 million signatures. With the quiet support of Greenpeace, Cousteau convinced the French President Francois Mitterrand and Prime Minister Michel Rocard to withdraw their support for the Minerals Convention. Because the Antarctic Treaty System works by consensus, that meant the Minerals Convention was dead.

Together with ASOC, Greenpeace, and Cousteau, Australia and France then embarked on a campaign for an Antarctic ‘Nature Reserve – Land of Science.’ The new allies now had to convince their colleagues in the Antarctic Treaty System to agree to create this nature reserve, not least the pro-mining United States. Cousteau appeared before the US Congress on several occasions and drew considerable media attention. He even embarked on his own expedition to Antarctica, taking six children with him – one from each of the inhabited continents – to represent the future and show them and the world what could be lost if Antarctica were to be opened to mining.

Cousteau and his allies in the World Park campaign convinced the Bush administration, and the world, that such a loss would be totally unacceptable. In 1991, the parties to the Antarctic Treaty adopted the Environmental Protection Protocol. That agreement commits signatories ‘to the comprehensive protection of the Antarctic environment’ and designates the entire continent ‘as a natural reserve, devoted to peace and science.’ It remains in place today.

That agreement doesn’t, however, protect the living resources of Antarctica. The exploitation of the Antarctic oceans is instead covered by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), though it’s “Conservation” record is decidedly mixed. A recent Greenpeace report, for example, found that intensive krill fishing is creating direct competition for food with local whale and penguin populations. Krill play a central role in the Antarctic food web, and are under increasing pressure from both overfishing and climate change.

With its current campaign, Greenpeace is hoping the EU proposal to create a 1.8 million square kilometre Antarctic Ocean Sanctuary will be agreed to at the next Commission meeting in October this year. The Sanctuary would extend protection to vulnerable krill populations and the Antarctic animals that rely on them. It would be the biggest protected area on the planet.

In the 1980s, it seemed inevitable that mining would begin on the last continent. The idea of a ‘World Park’ Antarctica was rejected by diplomats and politicians as utopian and unrealistic. But over a decade, a small team of environmental activists succeeded in convincing them that they were wrong. The history of Antarctica shows us that environmental protection isn’t always pipe dream. And, if we can achieve it there, maybe we can do it in other places, too.

By Emma Shortis

Fox-Zucker Fellow, Yale University

PhD Candidate, The University of Melbourne

Their call to protect the Antarctic is backed by more than 1 million people.

Trained climbers from Greenpeace Germany and Greenpeace Nordic safely scaled the side of the Ukrainian trawler More Sodruzhestva to attach the pod, after documenting it fishing for krill – a vital species in the Antarctic food web – in an area being proposed for marine protection.

“Krill is the lifeblood of the Antarctic Ocean,” said activist Zoe Buckley Lennox, speaking from the survival pod.

“We cannot let the fishing industry steal it away from whales and penguins which depend on it as their main food source.”

Greenpeace is calling for the krill industry to commit to stop fishing in any area being considered by governments for ocean sanctuary status, and to back proposals for marine protection in the Antarctic.

The protest took place during a transhipment (transfer of cargo) with the reefer (refrigerated cargo ship) Skyfrost, near Greenwich Island in the Bransfield Strait. Skyfrost is flagged to Panama, but Greek-controlled. The transhipment took place close to a specially protected area, despite the potential impact on wildlife.

The expansion of krill fishing is being driven in part by an increased demand for the krill oil found in some health supplements, including Omega-3 pills. But a recent Greenpeace International investigation revealed that intensive fishing — including near protected areas — creates competition for food with penguins and whales, and threatens pristine Antarctic waters with potentially devastating fuel spills and fires.

“Krill vessels shouldn’t be fishing from the base of the food web near the feeding grounds of Antarctic wildlife, and they shouldn’t be doing it in areas being proposed as ocean sanctuaries. No business is worth threatening an ecosystem for,” said Thilo Maack, Protect the Antarctic campaigner aboard the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise, which is in the region as part of the campaign.

Fishing for Antarctic krill is currently permitted in various parts of the Antarctic Ocean but creating a well-managed network of marine reserves, including a 1.8 million square kilometre Antarctic Ocean Sanctuary, would help protect the area. The proposal will be considered by the Antarctic Ocean Commission in October 2018.

Notes:

Greenpeace International’s recent report on the krill fishing industry is available here: Licence to Krill: the little-known world of Antarctic fishing

Photo and video:

For photo and video, see here.

Media contacts:

Martin Zavan, Greenpeace Australia Pacific Communications Campaigner, martin.zavan@greenpeace.org, 0424 295 422

Luke Massey, Global Communications Lead – Protect the Antarctic, Greenpeace UK: luke.massey@greenpeace.org, +44 (0) 7973 873 155

Greenpeace International Press Desk: pressdesk.int@greenpeace.org, +31 (0) 20 718 2470 (available 24 hours)

…You would stay to feed yourself, but your stress level would elevate, health deteriorate, and potentially have hearing damage. During your next home renovation project you should be happy you have restaurants as alternative eateries. Whales don’t.”

–Dr. Leigh Torres, Marine Mammal Institute, Oregon State University (on seismic testing)

Big Oil is circling the Great Australian Bight.

Norwegian oil giant Statoil has been granted an exploration permit and plans to drill in the Great Australian Bight this year. Half a dozen other oil companies also own permits and the government is proposing to open up even more of the Bight for them to bid on. We have good reason to be concerned.

Statoil’s track record is worrying. It has faced criticism in Norway over a worsening safety record, with a doubling in the volume of oil spills in the last year, and a surge in the number of major safety incidents.

But spills are not the only way in which the oil industry can have a destructive impact on our planet. Each phase of production from exploration, through to extraction and transportation is fraught with its own risks.  

Companies are applying to conduct seismic testing in the Bight to help them decide where to drill. If it goes ahead, our marine life will be in serious danger.

So what is seismic testing?

Seismic testing is conducted by the oil and gas industry as a major early phase of exploration to find hydrocarbon deposits deep under the earth’s surface.  

Seismic airguns, dragged along by a ship, fire compressed air into the water to create blasts of sound that penetrate kilometers into the seabed. After bouncing back off different layers of rock, returning echoes are detected and recorded by sensors towed by the same ship.

A typical survey will blast on repeat every 10 seconds, around the clock 24 hours a day for weeks often months. At 259 decibels (dB) per blast, the sound is enough to kill a human and blanket an area of over 300,000 km2, raising background noise levels 100 fold.

The M/V Akademik Shatskiy operated by Norwegian company TGS Nopec conducts seismic blasting off North-East Greenland.

Seismic airguns are harmful to marine life.

Up above the water, we humans are dependant on our vision, but the oceans are an acoustic world.

Light can only penetrate so far below the surface of the ocean and so much of it is very dark. Vision doesn’t work so well and so animals like whales are dependent on their ability to hear for almost everything.

To navigate, hunt, detect predators, mate and communicate whales need echolocation.

Seismic testing affects a marine animal’s ability to do all of that.

The blast noise can drown out whale calls, so feeding or mating calls go unheard. Humpback whales have been known to stop singing altogether while other species abandon large areas that they need to use to hunt or raise their young.

The periodic blasts heighten an animal’s stress levels, which if chronic will have an impact on the immune system and comprise their overall health. Blasts can cause temporary or even permanent hearing loss, and have also been linked to strandings.

This is bad news for the Bight. 85% of marine life there is found nowhere else on earth and it’s home to one of the world’s largest breeding populations of the endangered southern right whale. It is a unique, pristine, remote marine environment.

And it’s not just whales and dolphins that will be left in the lurch.

Drone footage of Bunda Cliffs in the Great Australian Bight.

Seismic testing can harm all marine life, which means it affects communities too

Many communities in Southern Australia depend on marine life for their livelihoods, and we know that seismic testing effects many more species than just whales.

Scientists have found seismic testing also damages scallops, lobsters and other commercially important fish species.    

Testing can startle or injure fish causing them to leave an area or change their migration patterns, and it can kill or injure larvae and young fish. 

In Norway, fishermen have access to compensation schemes because of the financial losses they experience as a result of testing. It’s that bad.

In Southern Australia around 1400 people are employed in the Southern lobster fishing industry alone, while fishing and aquaculture is worth $880 million a year to the state. Seismic testing could affect these industries.

Together we can save the Bight and its vital and unique marine life. Stand with South Australian communities and take action now to keep Big Oil out of the Bight.

More than 40 international celebrities have joined David and Alison as ambassadors for the ‘Protect the Antarctic’ campaign. From countries ranging from Argentina to China, Spain to Israel, the ambassadors include actors, presenters, explorers, musicians, chefs and fashion designers:

Gillian Anderson, Carlos Bardem, Javier Bardem, Sir Quentin Blake, Tanya Burr, Jim Chapman, Gwendoline Christie, Lily Cole, Fearne Cotton, Dame Judi Dench, Tracey Emin, Lena Endre, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Ralph Fiennes, Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Ben Fogle, Stephen Fry, Roie Galitz, David Gandy, Terry Gilliam, Philip Hoare, Vanessa Kirby, Annie Lennox, Alvaro Longoria, Joanna Lumley, Les Luthiers, Dame Helen Mirren, Thandie Newton, Simon O’Brien, Chris Packham, Simon Pegg, Vanessa Redgrave, David de Rothschild, Jack Rowan, Sir Mark Rylance, Alexander Skarsgård, Alison Steadman, Michaela Strachan, Laura Wells, Vivienne Westwood, Wang Yuheng.

David Harbour, who plays Police Chief Jim Hopper in ‘Stranger Things’, and is on board the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise, said:

“Well, Greenpeace says the Weddell Sea and its surroundings are home to a precious ecosystem, vital to sustaining our future. And that there’s penguins there. And that I’ll get to waddle around with them, discuss their parenting techniques with them and yes, yes, dance with them. And that they’ll film it. And that if maybe I get enough support from everybody, they’ll gimme that video, so I can rent it out to you (be kind, rewind please).

“Those who think I don’t have the sea legs to cross the Drake Passage, nor the cojones to scare away a rogue fur seal in my way, nor the animal magnetism to attract a group of curious penguins… Look it’s not the smart money bet… I mean, I’ve been known to do stranger things (insert canned laughter here).”

Alison Sudol, who plays Queenie Goldstein in ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’, and is on board the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise, said:

“There is a massive movement to protect these waters, which provide invaluable refuge to marine wildlife, and I am thrilled to join Greenpeace as an Antarctic Ambassador! Not only do I get to shout about it everywhere I can, but I also get to put on my life jacket and long johns and go exploring.”

Wang Yuheng, a nature lover and reality TV star famous for superhuman observation and memory, and who will be joining the expedition in February, said:

“If the world is an ink painting, Antarctica is the pristine white space that gives it depth. We must protect it, its oceans and its wildlife.”

Javier Bardem, Oscar-winning actor who joined Greenpeace’s Antarctic expedition in January, said:

“The benefits of an Antarctic Ocean Sanctuary would be global. Healthy oceans sustain precious wildlife and help limit climate change.”
Stephen Fry said:

“Every year blue whales, the largest animal that has ever lived, migrate thousands of miles to feed in the seas of the Antarctic. Last century we almost hunted these gentle giants to extinction: now we need to get serious about giving them proper protection to recover and flourish by establishing an Antarctic Ocean Sanctuary.”

Dame Judi Dench said:

“From plastic pollution to overfishing and climate change, our oceans are under threat. Here on land we can all take action to help, by not using throwaway plastic like bags, straws and bottles. But if our seas are going to recover, scientists are telling us we need to create sanctuaries covering at least 30% of the planet’s oceans. Sanctuaries encourage vital biodiversity, provide food security for the billions of people that rely on our oceans, and are essential to tackling climate change. We need to protect the world’s oceans and it starts right now in the Antarctic!”

Dame Helen Mirren said:

“The Antarctic is a special place, home to so many extraordinary animals, and it needs to be protected from the damage caused by humans to so much of the rest of the planet. I’m delighted to be an Ambassador for an Antarctic Ocean Sanctuary.”

Sir Ranulph Fiennes said:

“I was the first person, with Charles Burton, to surface travel to both the South and North poles, and, with Dr Mike Stroud, I was the first to cross the Antarctic Continent entirely on foot. The Antarctic is a place of exploration, wonder and wilderness. Let’s keep it that way, by creating an Antarctic Ocean Sanctuary.”

Gillian Anderson said:

“Sadly we have been all too quick to exploit our global oceans, and all too slow to protect them. Despite scientists agreeing we urgently need massive ocean sanctuaries to protect marine life, progress is glacially slow. That’s why I’m getting behind Greenpeace’s campaign to create a huge Antarctic Ocean Sanctuary.”

Sir Quentin Blake said:

“Home to colossal squid, giant sea spiders and enormous blue whales, protecting the Antarctic Ocean is a big job – and that’s why I’m glad to add my voice to the massive movement to protect it.”

Joanna Lumley said:

“The Antarctic has been over hunted and overfished; now it is facing the terrible impacts of global climate change. It’s high time we stop exploiting and start protecting.”
Alison Steadman said:

“Protecting this vital, life-giving ocean is the only way to look after all of the precious animals that call the Antarctic home. They can’t exist without the southern ocean – and frankly, neither can the rest of us!”

David de Rothschild said:

“Wherever you look around the planet our human habits are now undeniably responsible for the devastating impacts and pressures facing nature. The penguins, whales and seals are already facing immense pressures from climate change, pollution and overfishing and if that wasn’t bad enough we’ve added yet another layer of destruction and stress to their habitats. Left unmonitored and to their own devices fishing vessels are sucking up krill for the sake of profit over planet, leaving the marine life to fight for what’s left! This route leads to one result – the collapse of an invaluable ecological system. That’s why we must support an Antarctic Ocean Sanctuary that would not only protect wildlife, but would help to keep our oceans healthy which can only be a good thing for everyone! It’s time to stop the war on nature!”

Terry Gilliam said:

“This Antarctic Ocean Sanctuary would be the largest place on earth set aside for wildlife to live in peace: an area five times the size of Germany, or the equivalent of 200 Yellowstone National Parks. That’s something worth being an Ambassador for.”

Lily Cole said:

“There is no government for the Antarctic and so no one truly speaking out on its behalf. I am proud to support Greenpeace’s dedication to making the Antarctic the biggest protected area in the planet.”

Alexander Skarsgård said:

“Greenpeace are going to the end of the earth and the bottom of the sea to protect our planet. Let’s stand with them to call for an Antarctic Ocean Sanctuary.”
Ben Fogle said: “Blue Whales can live for up to 100 years, so many lived through decades of whaling that decimated their species. We need to make sure that they also live to see their Antarctic home protected.”

Chris Packham said:

“When you think of the Antarctic you probably think of snow, penguins, whales and drifting icebergs. You probably don’t think of fishing vessels hoovering up the essential food source these incredible animals depend on: krill. But that is sadly what is happening right now: vast ships sucking tonnes of these tiny crustaceans out of the ocean, sometimes even under the gaze of nearby penguin colonies. We need to create a protected space for Antarctic wildlife free from human exploitation. Penguins have lived in these waters for millions of years. We must let them have an Antarctic Ocean Sanctuary.

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall said:

“I’ve had the amazing opportunity to visit the Antarctic Peninsula and South Georgia, where I experienced sights, sounds and smells that I will remember as long as I live. Everything there, from penguins, seals and whales, to krill, jellyfish and plankton, depends on a healthy Antarctic ocean. This is one part of our blue planet we can take immediate action to protect. So let’s do it.”

Jack Rowan said:

“I’m extremely proud to become an ambassador for Greenpeace’s incredible efforts around the world, and particularly the protected ocean sanctuary they’re looking to create in the Antarctic. We’ve all seen the devastation created by human pollution in oceans around the world, and we need to come together to help protect these as yet untouched parts of our planet. I for one will do anything I can to help retain these natural habitats for the animals that live and thrive there.”

– ENDS –
Notes to editors:
Photos of David Harbour and Alison Sudol on board the ship, some of the other Antarctic ambassadors, and the Greenpeace Antarctic expedition so far, are available here:http://act.gp/2En6yoC

Further information about Greenpeace’s three-month Antarctic expedition is available here:
http://act.gp/2G74Vtr

The proposal for the Antarctic Ocean Sanctuary has been submitted by the EU and will be considered when the Antarctic Ocean Commission next convenes, in October 2018.

Media contacts:
Alex Sedgwick, Antarctic Global Communications, Greenpeace UK,
, +44 (0) 7773 043 386

Greenpeace International Press Desk,
, +31 (0) 20 718 2470 (available 24 hours)