European fishing vessel unloads 100,000 fish in the Atlantic Ocean

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The French arm of the Sea Shepherd campaign group has for the first time published images of the spill, showing the ocean surface covered in a dense layer of blue whiting – a subspecies of cod used to produce fish sticks, fish oil and meals.

Sea Shepherd France said it did not believe the accident was accidental, but rather an attempt by the fishing vessel to offload a type of fish it did not want to handle. It is a practice known as accidental unloading, which is prohibited under EU fishing rules.

Lamia El-Smalali, head of the campaign group in France, said she believed the fish had been intentionally emptied. Sea Shepherd France said the spill affected more than 100,000 fish.

Fishing vessels such as the Margiris use trawls more than a kilometer long and process the fish in the factories on board, a practice that has been harshly criticized by environmentalists.

Following protests from activists, the Margres family was forced to leave Australian waters in 2012.

Traffic data from marinetraffic.com on Friday showed that the vessel, which is owned by Parleviliet & Van der Plas and sails under the flag of Lithuania, is still engaged in fishing activities off the French coast.

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