In 1988, an Earthtrust expedition to the traditionally-secret
North Pacific driftnet fishing grounds graphically documented
the world largest kill of ocean wildlife for the first time. Conducted
by a heroic 6-person crew aboard the 42-foot ketch Sea Dragon,
this 2-month mission documented, both above and below the seas,
the destruction caused by the Asian "Red squid" driftnet
fleets in international waters. Still photographs and video images
from the expedition, disseminated around the globe via the media,
created worldwide awareness of this unprecedented human threat
to the marine ecosystem, and intensified international efforts
to monitor and regulate these vast, largely unknown fishing fleets.
The resulting Earthtrust video production, Stripmining the
Seas became the global rallying point for the issue and set
the stage for the U.N. Driftnet moratorium. Images from this expedition
are still the world standard.
Gallery: Pictures from the 1988 North Pacific Driftnet Expedition
For more information on Earthtrust's role in stopping driftnetting,
see Earthtrust's DriftNetwork page, and
the document Earthtrust and Driftnets: A
Capsule History.
