A dangerous profession

With 45 miles worth of illegal net, the environmentalists’ task was no easy feat. After sailing in the dangerous and unpredictable waters, the deck was slippery. The crew constantly put themselves at risk because falling off board was a big probability. With the frozen waters, any one of them could easily suffer from cardiac arrest. Drowning would have been a sweet escape. And as if this wasn’t easy enough, the Simon’s crew had to deal with fish obtained that were starting to decompose and explode. It was gory sight, but they soldiered on with a bigger goal in mind.

The slow disappearance of the white gold

Was the sacrifice worth it? For the Barker crew, it was. Toothfish, otherwise known as the Chilean sea bass, fishing had skyrocketed when consumer demand also increased. A good catch would weigh more than a hefty 250 pounds and cost more than $30 on a plate, which is why it was called the white gold. And for every four creatures caught in a net, only one would be a toothfish. The others were simply thrown back, oftentimes dead. With the rising demand and the fearless piracy just for cold, hard cash, the fish population is quickly dwindling at an alarming rate. The Sea Shepherd simply did what any fearless, concerned conservationist would do, and that was to protect the ocean no matter the cost.