Sea Shepherd Fights Illegal Fishing in Central and South America

Sea Shepherd Fights Illegal Fishing in Central and South America © Sea Shepherd Conservation Society

Sea Shepherd has just launched a new campaign to fight illegal, unregulated, and unreported (IUU) fishing: Operation Mamacocha! Operation Mamacocha is addressing IUU fishing in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean, focusing on the high seas offshore of Ecuador, Peru, Panama, Costa Rica, and Colombia. This includes the Galápagos Islands and Marine Reserve, Cocos Island, Malpelo Island, and Coiba National Park, all of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

This area is incredibly rich in biodiversity and home to 88 species of sharks, giant oceanic mantas, sea turtles, dolphins, humpbacks and blue whales, among thousands of other species.

The waters are under threat from poorly managed fisheries, bycatch, and IUU fishing. Sea Shepherd is preventing IUU fishing by gathering on the scene intelligence and reporting illegal activity to partner enforcement agencies in Central and South America.

Utilizing its fast interceptor vessel, the MV Brigitte Bardot, Sea Shepherd is patrolling the high seas in collaboration with SkyTruth and Oceana Peru, who provide real time vessel tracking analysis. Sea Shepherd uses this latest satellite technology and expertise from its intelligence partners to hone in on and intercept potential IUU activities on the high seas in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean.

In collaboration with regional federal agencies and our in-house legal support team, Sea Shepherd Legal, Sea Shepherd enforces and upholds marine conservation law on the high seas and follows potential crimes onto land where cases can be prosecuted.