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Greenpeace does not respond to questions over spying allegations during Operation Ocean Witness
Greenpeace UK and Open Seas undertake Operation Ocean Witness around the Scottish coast over the summer period.
The joint mission will be undertaken onboard the research vessel, ‘Sea Beaver’.
Last summer, Operation Ocean Witness saw a six-month engagement involving the Sea Beaver, which patrolled the UK’s protected areas off the south coast. Greenpeace claimed that they were doing “what the government has so far failed to do – protect the UK’s marine protected areas from destructive fishing, a key Brexit promise which has been broken.”
Operation Ocean Witness operated out of Newhaven from June until Autumn 2021, was also noted for following fishing vessels and recording their activities.
Similarly in 2022, the ‘Sea Beaver’ is reported to be undertaking a survey to document and seabed and the impacts that trawling and dredging have of the flora and fauna across a variety of habitats.
Will McCallum, Head of Oceans for Greenpeace UK, said:
“The Sea Beaver has given us the ability to spend much more time studying UK coastal waters, and we’re incredibly excited to be able to explore the amazing seas around the Scottish coast with our partners at Open Seas. As well as gathering vital data on the state of our marine ecosystems, we hope that the images and video we collect will inspire people to protect the ocean on their doorstep. We’re always happy to share our findings with different groups, so if anyone has questions about what we’re looking at, don’t hesitate to get in touch.”
The Fishing Daily also asked Greenpeace regarding reports which suggested that the ‘Sea Beaver’ was spying on fishing vessels in the Moray Firth and the surrounding area during their fishing operations, Greenpeace did not respond to the question.
