Plastic Floating in the Great Pacific Garbage PatchA clear plastic bottle is found drifting in the garbage patch. Living on this single bottle were bryozoans, nudibranchs, crabs, and barnacles. The crew of the Greenpeace ship MY Arctic Sunrise voyage into the Great Pacific Garbage Patch document plastics and other marine debris. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a soupy mix of plastics and microplastics, now twice the size of Texas, in the middle of the North Pacific Ocean.© Justin Hofman / Greenpeace
Manta rays off Nusa Penida IslandManta rays are seen in the cold upwellings off Nusa Penida Island, Bali, Indonesia. More and more single use plastics are swept along the coast, as Indonesia struggles to control its addiction to plastics.© Paul Hilton / Greenpeace
Greenwich Island in the AntarcticAerial photograph taken in Dryanovo Heights (see GPS), on the north extremity of Greenwich Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. Greenpeace is conducting scientific research and documenting the Antarctic’s unique wildlife, to strengthen the proposal to create the largest protected area on the planet, an Antarctic Ocean Sanctuary.© Daniel Beltrá / Greenpeace
Gentoo Penguins in the AntarcticGentoo penguin colony on Cuveville Island in Errera channel, Antarctic Peninsula. Greenpeace is conducting scientific research and documenting the Antarctic’s unique wildlife, to strengthen the proposal to create the largest protected area on the planet, an Antarctic Ocean Sanctuary.© Daniel Beltrá / Greenpeace
Esperanza and Supermoon in ScotlandThe Greenpeace ship Esperanza and the supermoon. The ship is moored in the Firth of Forth, Scotland.© Will Rose / Greenpeace
Walruses on Ice Floe at Kvitøya in SvalbardAerial view over two walruses on an ice floe in front of Kvitøya (White Island) in the Svalbard Archipelago.© Christian Åslund / Greenpeace
MY Esperanza in the Indian OceanThe MY Esperanza and a Greenpeace inflatable bear witness to an illegal fishing vessel. Greenpeace is in the Indian Ocean to document and peacefully tackle unsustainable fishing.© Will Rose / Greenpeace
MY Esperanza in the Indian OceanAerial view of the Greenpeace ship Esperanza. Greenpeace is in the Indian Ocean to peacefully tackle unsustainable fishing by the world’s largest tuna company, Thai Union.© Will Rose / Greenpeace
ROV to inspect a FAD in the Indian OceanCrew from the Esperanza use an ROV to inspect a FAD (Fish Aggregation Device) found in the Indian Ocean. The ROV is an essential piece of equiptment to determine what is under the surface before divers enter the water. The Greenpeace ship Esperanza continues to recover FADs on an expedition in the Indian Ocean to peacefully tackle unsustainable fishing. The marine snares recovered have all been placed by vessels supplying Thai Union. With some tuna stocks in the Indian Ocean, such as Yellowfin, on the brink of collapse due to overfishing, the expedition is exposing destructive fishing methods which contribute to overfishing and harm a range of marine life including sharks and juvenile tuna.© Will Rose / Greenpeace
Esperanza Departs from MadagascarThe Esperanza departs from the port of Diego Suarez. The Greenpeace vessel is in North Madagascar embarking on a new campaign in the Indian Ocean.© Will Rose / Greenpeace
Esperanza in SvalbardThe Greenpeace ship Esperanza anchored in a bay called Gashhamna on the southern side of Hornsund, which is a fjord on the south west coast of Spitsbergen.© Nick Cobbing / Greenpeace
Sperm Whales in Sri LankaA pod of Sperm Whales move into a defense line to stop a pod of Orcas (Killer Whales) getting to their calf, off the coast of Sri Lanka.© Paul Hilton / Greenpeace
Whale Shark in Cenderawasih BayA whale shark in Cenderawasih Bay National Park. Greenpeace is in Indonesia to document one of the world’s most biodiverse – and threatened – environments and to call for urgent action to ensure that the country's oceans and forests are protected.© Paul Hilton / Greenpeace
Arctic IcescapeA view of Arctic sea ice. Greenpeace is on a month-long expedition in the icy Arctic campaigning for a global sanctuary to be declared around the uninhabited area of the North Pole. Arctic sea ice has already disappeared by 75% in the last 30 years, and scientists together with Greenpeace are working with 3D scanning experts and engineers to capture the true shape of Arctic sea ice for the first time.© Greenpeace / Alex Yallop
Arctic Tern KuestenseeschwalbeArctic Tern (Sterna paradisaea) feeding chick. Kuestenseeschwalbe (Sterna paradisaea) fuettert Jungtier (Kuecken).© Bernd Roemmelt / Greenpeace
Scientists and Mesocosms in SvalbardScientists studying the effects of ocean acidification take depth temperature and salinity readings (amongst other data) from the water captured inside the mesocosms (experiment water enclosures). Greenpeace is working with scientists from the German marine research institute IFM-GEOMAR to investigate ocean acidification, by deploying nine large mesocosms in Kongsfjord, near the Arctic scientific research station of Ny-Alesund in Svalbard. The mesocosms are being used to investigate future implications of ocean acidification, a phenomenon caused by carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions that has just as much potential to damage marine ecosystems as climate change. Absorption of excess CO2 pollution by seawater causes its PH level to drop, making it more difficult for creatures integral to the food web to form shells and skeletons.© Nick Cobbing / Greenpeace
Turtle and FAD in East Pacific OceanLoggerhead turtle swimming around a fish aggregation device belonging to the Ecuadorean purse seiner 'Ingalapagos', which was documented by Greenpeace in the vicinity of the northern Galapagos Islands. Around 10% of the catch generated by purse seine FAD fisheries is unwanted bycatch and includes endangered species. LAT 04:07 NORTH / LONG 091:28 WEST© Alex Hofford / Greenpeace
Fish on Purse Seiner in East Pacific OceanA net bulging with tuna and bycatch on the Ecuadorean purse seiner 'Ocean Lady', which was spotted by Greenpeace in the vicinity of the northern Galapagos Islands while using fishing aggregating devices (FADs). Around 10% of the catch generated by purse seine FAD fisheries is unwanted bycatch and includes endangered species of sharks and turtles. The catch of large amounts of juvenile bigeye and yellowfin tunas in these fisheries is now threatening the survival of these commercially valuable species. Greenpeace is calling for a total ban on the use of fish aggregation devices in purse seining and the establishment of a global network of marine reserves LAT 04:09 NORTH / LONG 091:31 WEST© Alex Hofford / Greenpeace
Dolphins at Pelagos SanctuaryA pod of dolphins are pictured swimming close to the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise, 20 miles off the north coast of Corsica, in the Pelagos Sanctuary for Mediterranean Marine Mammals.© Greenpeace / Paul Hilton
Trawling Documentation in the Pacific OceanSeveral species of albatross feeding on orange roughy heads and bycatch behind the Belize-registered deep sea trawler 'Chang Xing' in international waters in the Tasman Sea. Greenpeace along with more than a thousand scientists are supporting the call for a moratorium on high seas bottom trawling, because of the vast amount of marine life that is destroyed by this fishing method.© Greenpeace / Roger Grace
Azores Deep Sea LifeSalps are found most commonly in warm or equatorial seas, where they float randomly, either alone or in long, stringy colonies. There are about 70 species of salps worldwide. Greenpeace is in the Azores with a team of scientists to survey and document deep sea life.© Greenpeace / Gavin Newman