Sea Shepherd Saves Guatemalan Marine Life by Halting Poaching Operations!

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is on a mission to protect all marine life from harm and it’s doing a darn good job of it.

The nonprofit is most well known for its work interrupting Japanese “scienfitic” whaling operations, as filmed on the Animal Planet series “Whale Wars,” and also for its awareness-raising efforts in Taiji, Japan, where their Cove Guardians gather footage of the town’s massive dolphin round-up, hunt, and captivity capture annually.

Most recently, the organization has undertaken a collaborative partnership with Pharrel Williams and his company Bionic Yarn to clean up plastic waste from the ocean and turn it into sustainable fashion.

Now, Sea Shepherd is entering other waters, Guatemala’s that is.

Sea Shepherd’s boat Brigitte Bardot, a high-speed trimaran, has just returned from its “first successful patrol” of Guatemala’s waters by working in conjunction with the Guatemalan Department of Fisheries on its anti-poaching enforcement to “lower the impact of illegal fishing of billfish by commercial fishermen,” as reported in a recent press release.

On the very first night of patrols, seven boats were boarded and two of them possessed illegal sailfish catch. After documenting the incident, the fish were safely returned to their home in the sea.

According to Sea Shepherd, “Administrative action has been taken against the fishermen.”

That’s justice served right!

Sea Shepherd’s crew and Fisheries officials are on the lookout for both illegal catch and the illegal use of longlines and gillnets, as both methods have been proven to be highly destructive to marine life.

As Sea Shepherd reports, “The main goal of these anti-poaching operations is to gather evidence to present to the Guatemalan government. Sea Shepherd is hopeful that if these patrols show that illegal fishing takes place on a large scale and presents a significant threat in Guatemalan waters, more action will be taken to combat this serious problem.”

The organization will continue its work with Fisheries officials and will also be giving talks at schools to spread awareness about the plight of sea life and the “urgent need for ocean protection.”

In time, we will certainly see more poaching operations stopped and more victories for marine animals in Guatemala with the help of Sea Shepherd.

Keep up the great work, ocean warriors!

Image source: David Amsler / Flickr