Bluefin Tuna

 The Bluefin Mediterranean Tour 2010.

I was working with Greenpeace International as a photographer, onboard the Arctic Sunrise in the Mediterranean, on their bluefin tuna campaign and I have to say that it was pretty heavy at times. It seemed like all out war, as we clashed with the bluefin tuna industry.

The fishing season runs for a month and due to bad weather there was only two weeks to go before the end of season and nobody had seen any tuna let alone caught any. The sea temperature had to be around 23 or 24 degrees before the tuna surface to spawn. That’s right we catch them when they are trying to breed.

A tuna cage full of bluefin tuna. Paul HILTON/GREENPEACE

So the day came, 4th June 2010. The conditions where perfect for tuna. We had found and identified a target. The French had a huge school of bluefin tuna in their net. Our intentions where to try to release the fish before they could offload them into a tuna cage or bring them onboard.  So all the Greenpeace inflatables where launched and headed towards the target, I was with the heli team and before we got of the ground we could here distress calls coming in over the radio. As soon as we were air bourn, I realised, we were at war.  I could see skirmishes everywhere and I didn’t know where to point my camera. One inflatable was being rammer by a fishing boat and another two were sinking.

An aerial view from the heli. Paul HILTON/GREENPEACE

Greenpeace activists get rammered by angry fisherman. Paul HILTON/GREENPEACE

I could see activists shielding themselves against gaff hooks and anything the else the fishermen could pick up and swing. The next think I could see was a flare coming right for the helicopter, I called to the pilot to bank hard left, it flew straight past us, then a second and third. We decide to pull out, as it was getting too dangerous to hang around. As we are flying back to the Sunrise, I could see one of the inflatable's totally submerged. We heard a call over the radio, Frank an activist had just got a  gaff hook through the leg and they we’re returning back to the ship.

Fishermen swing gaff hooks at the activists. Paul HILTON/GREENPEACE

Bluefin tuna wars. Paul HILTON/GREENPEACE

Another aerial view of an inflatable being rammed. Paul HILTON/GREENPEACE

Flares being fired at the helicopter. Paul HILTON/GREENPEACE

You may think that it’s all a little crazy but the escalating maneuvers by Greenpeace come after environmentalists were disappointed this year by the failure of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) to protect the bluefin tuna. Heavy lobbying from Japan sunk the resolution. Most bluefin tuna ends up in restaurants in Japan, where it is served as sushi and sashimi. As the species has become increasingly scarce, prices have risen: a single fish often brings in over 100,000 US dollars.

We had three major protest against the bluefin tuna fleets this summer, more images below.

This time we forcused on tuna cages, along side the Rainbow Warrior. Paul HILTON/GREENPEACE

Paul HILTON/GREENPEACE

Since 1970 Atlantic bluefin tuna populations have dropped by 80 percent due to industrialized overfishing. International scientists have repeatedly called for a total ban on Atlantic bluefin in order to save the species from extinction, but to date short-term industry concerns have won out over the species' long-term survival. Please think twice before buying any blue fin tuna products.

 Also I thought this maybe of some interest below, dolphins are pictured on the bow of the Steve Irwin, taken from the Arctic Sunrise. 

For more information please read Tuna's End in the New York Times. Paul HILTON Conservation Photographer

All images copyright : PAUL HILTON PHOTOGRAPHY.