PACIFIC OCEAN, Saturday, 28 June 2025 – Activists from Greenpeace Aotearoa have confronted a bottom trawler in the South Pacific ocean, east of New Zealand, rebranding it “ocean killer” after witnessing it haul in a net straining with marine life.
Launching from the Greenpeace vessel Rainbow Warrior, activists approached the New Zealand-flagged ship, Talley’s Amaltal Atlantis, on the Chatham Rise on Friday afternoon, and painted the message on its hull using non-toxic paint.
Speaking from onboard the Rainbow Warrior, Greenpeace Aotearoa spokesperson Juan Parada states: “Appalled by the most recent evidence of destruction, people defending the oceans rebranded this Talley’s vessel today to expose the bottom trawling industry for what they are: ocean killers. When Talley’s bottom trawlers drag their heavy trawl nets across the seafloor and over seamounts, they bulldoze everything in their path, including killing precious marine life from coral to fur seals, dolphins, and seabirds.
“We’ve all seen the shocking footage of bottom trawling in David Attenborough’s film Ocean, and it’s happening right here, right now.
“Faced with a fishing industry that profits from trashing the ocean, and a government that condones bottom trawling, we’re proud of the peaceful action taken today to call out this destruction and demand that bottom trawling stop.
The Amaltal Atlantis trawls in the waters of Aotearoa, and has previously received permits to trawl in the High Seas of the South Pacific. Their trail of destruction is wide and long-lasting,” says Parada.
New Zealand is the only country still engaging in bottom trawling in the high seas of the Tasman, situated between Australia and New Zealand.
The at-sea action follows a deep sea expedition led by Greenpeace Aotearoa that documented extensive coral destruction in areas of the Tasman Sea subjected to intensive trawling by New Zealand bottom trawlers. This area is designated as one of the first high seas ocean sanctuaries under the Global Ocean Treaty.
Talley’s vessels trawl in Australian waters; the Amaltal Explorer has been trawling for endangered orange roughy off Tasmania, after being permitted back in Australia’s waters last year. In 2018, the Amaltal Apollo trawled in a protected area on the Lord Howe Rise, located in the international waters of the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand.
This action follows recent disruptions by Greenpeace Australia Pacific activists to an industrial longliner between Australia and New Zealand, which highlighted the detrimental effects of industrial fishing on marine life in the South Pacific.
Greenpeace Australia Pacific is urging the Australian government to ratify the Global Ocean Treaty and propose high seas marine protected areas, including substantial protected zones in the Tasman Sea.
In response to the protest, Talley’s announced plans to pursue legal action, which “may include the arrest of the Rainbow Warrior.”
—ENDS—
Contacts:
- Nick Young, Greenpeace Aotearoa: +64-21-707-727
- Kimberley Bernard, Greenpeace Australia Pacific: +61 407 581 404 or [email protected]
Photos and videos are available for media upon request.
Notes:
- [1] The action took place in the Chatham Rise area, where it was recently revealed a New Zealand vessel dragged up six tonnes of coral in a single trawl.
- The paint used for the hull is water-based and non-toxic.
- Between 1990 and 2004, the total area trawled in New Zealand waters was 465,100 square kilometres – almost double New Zealand’s land mass.
