Environmental campaigners are again calling for a clampdown on fishing in one of the world’s most remote and untouched oceans after two ships suffered serious accidents in the icy waters. The accidents — in which a number of crew are believed to have died — carry a pollution risk as well as raising questions over whether any fishing should be allowed in the Ross Sea, near Antarctica.
The Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition (ASOC) says that the incidents show that controversial attempts to exploit toothfish found in the sea are leading vessels into danger and threatening the environment.
“This is one of the last places on Earth where we have this pristine environment,” says James Barnes, executive director of the coalition, whose members include Greenpeace, the WWF and the Pew Group. “It’s not going to be pristine for long.”
At the end of last year, the fishing vessel Sparta was holed by ice in the Ross Sea and had to be assisted by a Korean icebreaker before it could limp into port. This January another fishing boat in the sea — the Jeong Woo 2 — caught fire, and its crew had to be rescued by vessels including a US research ship. Reports suggest the Jeong Woo 2 is still ablaze and the BBC says three crew members died in the accident.
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