Greenpeace battles Mareblu

(ANSA) - Rome, April 28 - Greenpeace's Esperanza ship is on a peaceful mission in the Indian Ocean to stop unsustainable tuna fishing practices by the Thai Union Group, which owns Italian brand Mareblu among many others, the environmentalist group said Thursday. The Thailand-based seafood giant is driving species such as yellowfin tuna to the brink of collapse through "excessive and destructive fishing", Greenpeace said.
    The Esperanza crew is busy removing and deactivating fish aggregation devices (FADs), man-made object used to attract fish such as marlin, tuna and mahi-mahi (dolphin fish). They usually consist of buoys or floats tethered to the ocean floor with concrete blocks. Over 300 species of fish gather around FADs, which are "used by fishing boats that supply Mareblu and other Thai Union brands," Greenpeace said.
    This fishing method kills thousands of young tuna and other species, including 480-960,000 sharks.
    "Mareblu continues to betray our trust by using destructive fishing methods such as the ones we are documenting in the Indian Ocean, in violation of its commitment to become 100% sustainable by the end of the year," Greenpeace said.