Greenpeace activists 'attacked by Dutch fishermen'

Greenpeace activists claimed they came under attack today while trying to stop Dutch trawlers fishing in the Dogger Bank area of the North Sea.

The eco-warriors were in three rigid inflatable boats trying to stop a Dutch trawler carrying out controversial “beam trawling” which involves heavy iron chains ploughing up the seabed.

The activists said that masked fishermen threw missiles and fired flares at their inflatables.

Greenpeace said beam trawling is one of the most destructive types of fisheries with the heavy iron chains in front of the nets stirring up marine life that is then scooped up by the passing net.

The proposed Dogger Bank Marine Reserve is part of the German, UK, Dutch, Danish and Norwegian economic zones.

Some 100 miles off the Northumberland coast, it is one of 17 areas in the North and Baltic Seas that Greenpeace is calling on governments to declare ’Marine Reserves’.

That status would make them off-limits to fisheries, new oil exploration and sand-and-gravel excavation.

In total, Greenpeace are calling for 40 per cent of the North and Baltic Seas to be made into marine reserves.

The proposed reserve areas were chosen based on scientific survey data and include ecologically-important habitats as well as fish spawning and nursery grounds.

Greenpeace said that at about 9am today its activists in three rigid inflatable boats dropped buoys to prevent a Dutch beam trawler from setting its nets.

Before taking action the activists said they had called on the trawler’s captain to leave the Dogger Bank area.

They said that six other Dutch beam trawlers then joined the scene, surrounded one of the Greenpeace boats and threw missiles at the activists. One of the trawlers then approached the Greenpeace ship Esperanza and fishermen wearing ski masks shot three flares at the vessel.

One flare hit Esperanza’s mast but no-one was injured.

Greenpeace’s oceans campaigner, Oliver Knowles, said today: “The massive wastage that goes on day in day out in the North Sea is complete madness.

“When you have a plaice on your plate that has been caught by a beam trawler you should realise that eight plates worth of marine creatures have been wasted to catch it.

“Politicians are failing to protect the North Sea.

“For fisheries to be sustained long term there need to be healthy fish populations.

“Greenpeace believes the only way we are going to be able to ensure healthy fish stocks in the future is to make large areas of the North Sea into marine reserves, off-limits to fishing, new oil exploration and sand-and-gravel extraction.”

The Esperanza is now into the fourth week of a 10-week tour of the North Sea.

A spokesman for Humber Coastguard said it had not received any reports of any incidents but added that, while it would respond to that area, other coastguard agencies from other countries could also be scrambled.