The Greens spokesperson for Fisheries, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, congratulates Sea Shepherd for the success of Operation Icefish, a campaign to disrupt the Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported (IUU) fishing by organised crime gangs in the Southern Ocean waters surrounding Antarctica.

Greens spokesperson for Fisheries, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, welcomed the arrival of the ACV Ocean Shield to Hobart today.

Senator Whish-Wilson said “The ice-rated $150 million ACV Ocean Shield was purpose-built to patrol in environments like the Southern Ocean.

“We hope it is on the way to the Southern Ocean to provide the patrols it was promised to do.

The Greens spokesperson for Fisheries, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson is calling on the Australian government to immediately deploy the Customs vessel ACV Ocean Shield to intercept the two pirate vessels currently illegally fishing off the coast of Australian Antarctic Territory.

Senator Whish-Wilson said, “It is not good enough that the Sea Shepherd has had to, yet again, do the Government’s job.

The Australian Greens spokesperson for Fisheries, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, says that New Zealand’s efforts in recent days to use its Navy to round up illegal toothfish poachers in the Southern Ocean shows how pitiful the Australian government’s efforts have been.

Senator Whish-Wilson said, “We have had the Sea Shepherd pursuing the illegal vessel MV Thunder from Australia’s area of interest in the Southern Ocean and pulling out their deadly nets.

Greens spokesperson for Fisheries, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson is calling on the Federal Government to apprehend the notorious pirate vessel MV Thunder which is currently being pursued by the Sea Shepherd in the Southern Ocean. After years of being pursued by Australia and other nations, the MV Thunder was arrested and impounded by Malaysian authorities in May of this year. Inexplicably it has been sighted by Sea Shepherd, poaching Patagonian toothfish near the Australian territory of Heard Island.

The discovery by Sea Shepherd of the notorious pirate vessel, illegally fishing in the Southern Ocean between Heard Island and Antarctica indicates a worrying failure of international co-operation, Greens spokesperson for Fisheries Senator Peter Whish-Wilson said.

Senator Whish-Wilson said, “In December 2013 Interpol issued a Purple Notice alerting authorities that the Thunder was fishing illegally in the Southern Ocean.

Australian Greens Senator for Tasmania, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, attended the Welcome to Port celebrations for the RV Investigator in Hobart today.

Senator Whish-Wilson said, “This vessel is going to give Australia unprecedented capacity to undertake marine and climate research throughout the Southern Ocean.