JAPAN:

PIRATE TUNA
8’38”



A quarter of the world's tuna fish catch now comes
from pirate boats operating illegally in the high
seas. The majority are destined for the highly
profitable multi-million dollar Japanese market. Some
species of the fish are now rapidly depleting in
numbers leading campaigners to fear they could become
endangered. Despite international efforts to stop the
trade, pirate fishing has doubled in the last ten
years. Crews and ship owners use legal loopholes to
continue operating. This month the UN convenes in
Rome to discuss the growing problem. But with
shiploads arriving in Japan daily there are fears that
the pirates cannot be stopped.

SHOWS: Aerial of pirate fishing boat at sea;
fishermen hauling tuna on board ship; machine hauling
in net; fishermen on board ship; tuna being dragged on
board bleeding; fishermen cutting tuna fish; close up
of bleeding tuna; fishermen cutting fish; close up of
fisherman's hands cutting fish; tuna being dragged on
deck; fishermen weighing tuna; frozen tuna stored in
hull of ship; frozen tuna being lowered into hull of
ship; close up of frozen tuna fish; cook's hands
cutting tuna and preparing sushi; sushi cook cutting
tuna; close up of tuna cubes; cook placing tuna cubes
in bowl; restaurant; restaurant owner holding packets
of cut tuna meat; SOUNDBITE in Japanese with English
translation: Kiyoshi Kimura, restaurant chain owner
(DAVID NOTMAN-WATT); aerial of pirate fishing vessel
loading tuna on to Flag of Convenience vessel at high
sea; frozen tuna being transferred from one ship to
another; aerial shots of frozen tuna being transferred
at high sea (GREENPEACE) truck driving into port area;
ship unloading frozen fish from hull; tuna being
dropped on platform to be distributed to freezer
trucks; workers separating tuna into different freezer
trucks; worker separating tuna; men throwing tuna into
freezer truck; tuna being unloaded with ship in
foreground; men taking ladder from 'Hatsukari'; man
working on ship; close up of Hatsukari name; men at
front of ship; Panamanian flag; wide of Hatsukari by
the side of the dock; Helene Bour talking to
journalists; SOUNDBITE in English: Helene Bour,
Greenpeace Campaigner; wide of ships; Panama sign;
close up of Panama sign; ships; SOUNDBITE in English:
Helene Bour, Greenpeace Campaigner; Japanese Fishing
Agency representatives leaving the ship; sailors
looking out from ship window; journalists talking to
Fisheries representative; SOUNDBITE in Japanese with
English translation: Fisheries Agency Representative;
inside fish market; man pulling cart loaded with tuna;
tuna being loaded onto cart; man with bell; bidders
arriving; men bidding behind caller; caller; bidders;
close up of bidder raising hand; bidding; restaurant
chain owner walking into restaurant; inside restaurant
talking to cooks; cook cutting tuna; cook; food on
table; family eating; SOUNDBITE in Japanese with
English translation: Kiyoshi Kimura, restaurant chain
owner (DAVID NOTMAN-WATT); tuna caught underwater;
caught merlin; caught tuna; fishermen pulling in nets;
net being pulled in; fishermen pulling in dead seal;
fishermen emptying nets; sharks caught in nets; dead
sharks on deck; dead puffins (GREENPEACE); fishermen
by FOC ship; fishermen; close up of fisherman's hands;
fishermen sitting on docks (DAVID NOTMAN-WATT)


00:02 A ship working mid-Atlantic; destination: Japan.
On board it carries a precious cargo: tuna.

00:11 But this is not an innocent fishing boat going
about its business on the high seas. This is one of
hundreds of pirate vessels scouring the oceans -
fishing in complete contravention of international
quota agreements.

00:21 These tuna fish can fetch up to100 US dollars a
pound, with some of the largest fetching up to 50,000
dollars each.

The crew, mostly Japanese, are the backbone of an
international multi-million dollar racket that is
leading to the rapid depletion of tuna fish stocks.


00:51 Ships like these, mostly large factory-style
trawlers, prowl the Atlantic and Southern oceans
catching hundreds of tonnes of fish every month.


01:01 In Tokyo, a chef prepares fresh, high grade tuna
steak. Nowhere is demand higher than in Japan. The
fish forms part of the staple diet - eaten raw in
dishes such as sushi and sashimi.

01:20 Fish bars and restaurants like these are on
every street corner.

01:23 Owner Kiyoshi Kimura is aware of the pirate
trade.

01:28 KIYOSHI KIMURA, RESTAURANT CHAIN OWNER, IN
JAPANESE WITH ENGLISH TRANSLATION:
"Other countries in other parts of the world, like
Europe, catch too many small fish... like shrimp,
sardines, and mackerel. This leads to the destruction
of the ecosystem. This in turn leads the way towards
the extinction of species. We should all therefore be
thinking about the ecosystem. However, if they do it,
I think it is wrong that they should then turn around
and say that it is wrong to fish whales, or tuna."

02:03 Rare video footage shows a fishing boat
transferring its deep frozen catch to a larger vessel,
the Hatsukari. Tens of fishing boats will unload
their catch onto storage vessels like this, which can
hold up to 70 tonnes. From here she heads home, while
the smaller vessels continue fishing.

02:22 In Tokyo, storage ships move in and out of
dockside quickly. Time is money. Despite
international efforts to bring the owners to trial, a
series of legal loopholes ensure that the trade
continues.

02:36 The unloading operation is slow and will take
the best part of a day. Pirate ships like these are
known as FOC ships - meaning Flag of Convenience.
Though its crew are Japanese, as are its owners, they
are flagged to a country that turns a blind eye to any
violation of international maritime rules. No one can
be charged.

02:56 Globally, Honduras, Panama, Belize and St.
Vincent & the Grenadines are by far the worst
offenders. Together, they make up about 80% of the
1,300 or more large FOC fishing vessels operating
worldwide.

03:12 This catch is unloaded quickly.

03:15 By nightfall the ship will be back out at sea.

03:21 In the Atlantic only countries that are members
of ICCAT - The International Commission for the
Conservation of Atlantic Tunas can legally fish. But
the pirates can't be stopped. These crews know that
once at sea, they can operate virtually with impunity.
Rules are hard to enforce in the open ocean.

03:47 Helene Bours of Greenpeace says the trade has to
be stopped before it's too late.


03:51 HELENE BOURS, GREENPEACE:
"Well, there's one species called bluefin tuna,
Atlantic bluefin tuna which is in serious decline.
It's very, very depleted. Big eye tuna is the next
one on the list in terms of commercial value and if
nothing is done in terms of curtailing pirate
activities through monitoring, control at sea, market
measures or putting control on those reefers that are
the backbone of the whole organization out at sea, of
those activities, then the bigeye tuna stock is going
to follow the same trend as the bluefin tuna and then
they will go to the next one in terms of commercial
value and so on."

04:27 But unless nations like Panama opt to take legal
action against ships carrying their flags, there is
nothing Japan or any other country can do to stop
them.

04:37 HELENE BOURS, GREENPEACE:
"The basic flaw in international law is that the flag
state is ultimately responsible and if the flag state
is not prepared to take or enforce its
responsibilities then vessels like the Hatsukari can
continue to operate in contravention of international
rules."

04:55 Responding to Greenpeace pressure, the Japanese
Fisheries Agency has inspected the Hatsukari and seen
the video evidence. The crew looks on nervously
because it could be enough to stop the unloading; but
it isn't.

05:08 FISHERIES AGENCY REPRESENTATIVE, IN JAPANESE
WITH ENGLISH TRANSLATION:
"Japan will not choose not to import fish unless other
country's agree to do so as well. At the moment there
are already restrictions in place on the importation
of black fin tuna. But if there is an international
ban for all, then Japan will follow it as well."

05:27 Tokyo market is a huge, bustling magnet for the
country's thriving fish business. Buyers from
throughout the country come here. Some are from small
independent fisheries. Others represent multinational
companies cashing in on the trade.

05:41 Here the highest prices are paid for the prized
bluefin tuna. Fresh bluefin meat makes the finest
sashimi. But as its numbers continue to decline
prices are rising for both yellowfin and bigeye. This
has led to a dramatic impact on their stocks in the
last couple of years. But demand shows no sign of
slowing.



06:09 For Kiyoshi Kimura it is business as usual. He
admits that he could sometimes buy pirate tuna
accidentally, but he claims legitimate catches are now
mixed up with illegal ones - making it difficult to
know what you're buying.

06: 27 For every new set of guidelines established by
fishery commissions, pirate groups find a way around
them. It is almost impossible to stop the fish
arriving on these plates.

06:42 KIYOSHI KIMURA, RESTAURANT OWNER, IN JAPANESE
WITH ENGLISH TRANSLATION:
"What we should be doing is not only catching the
fish, but also growing them, ensuring their numbers
don't deplete. By growing different fish stock we in
turn save the environment. In nature mackerel eat
small fish like sardines, tuna eat mackerel, and so on
and so on down the line."


07:06 Another tuna is caught in the Atlantic.

07:11 So too is a merlin. A quarter of the world's
fish catch now comes from pirate boats. And in the
last ten years illegal fishing has doubled.

07:23 The fishermen haul in an eight-kilometre
driftnet; that's twice the legal length. The
technique involves large amounts of bycatch -
including sharks and porpoises.

07:36 There's even a northern fur seal. It has to be
dragged on board. They will be disposed of along
with fish and birds caught in the net, but not worth
bothering about.

07:51 Other ships use 100 kilometres of longline with
hooks, which is equally destructive.

07:56 Another shark is caught in the driftnet. Unlike
most other bycatches, the sharks will be kept because
their fins are treated by the Japanese as a delicacy.

08:11 In October, the United Nations meets in Rome to
tackle the issue of piracy, but it faces an uphill
struggle. The pirates are simply supplying massive
demand and businessmen are making money -- lots of it.
Until that simple equation is tackled, the problem
will not go away. The Japanese taste for tuna will
continue - as it has for centuries.

08:38 ENDS

JAPANESE SPEECH: 1 MINUTE 18 SECONDS
ENGLISH SPEECH: 54 SECONDS
CAMERAMAN: DAVID NOTMAN-WATT
PRODUCER: DAVID NOTMAN-WATT