A new Greenpeace blacklist database of ”irresponsible fishing operators” has encouraged the organization’s Stockholm office to offer an award of up to EUR 1,000 for anyone whose tip-off leads to a guilty verdict or the scrapping of the ship.
“Hopefully people working in ports or out at sea will check out suspicious ships in our new database”, Greenpeace spokesman Staffan Danielsson said to the Swedish Dagens Nyheter daily.
The blacklist contains ships that are forbidden to enter Swedish ports to land their catches or even make repairs. Anyone who discovers a violation is encouraged to take photos of it and upload it on the Greenpeace website, as well as fill out a form about the vessel’s position and other information relevant to the authorities concerned.
“The reward is a small incentive for people to report”, Staffan Danielsson said. “Up to now, many has seen it as meaningless, since the judicial process was so slow”.