One boat against an ocean of illegal fishing

While patrolling the South Indian Ocean, Sea Shepherd crew onboard the "Steve Irwin" retrieved an abandoned driftnet that was about 5 kilometers long - twice the maximum legally allowed length. Pulling in the net, they could already feel the weight of death. Once they brought the net on board, they realized the extent of the damage.

Retrieved from the illegal driftnet were 321 bodies of dead marine animals; 20 could be returned to the ocean alive. Critically endangered animals were among the 12 species caught. Captain Siddharth Chakravarty believes sharks were the target species, to be sold for their liver and skin. All the rest ended up as bycatch - unwanted animals caught along with the rest.

Of the 300-plus animals in the net, 126 were blue sharks. The blue shark is listed as near-threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Around 20 millions are killed each year for their meat, fins, liver and skin - primarily for markets in China and elsewhere in East Asia.

From all the marine life recorded in the confiscated driftnet, only 20 specimens were alive and could be put back into the sea. Eighteen blue sharks, one molamola fish and a squid were among the few lucky ones. Two entangled brown seals, however, were part of the unfortunate majority.

Such high amount of bycatch is generally bad news - but it's even worse when the bycatch also includes critically endangered species, such as southern bluefin tuna. Found dead in the driftnet were 25 members of this declining population. The species has been intensively fished for its highly prized meat.

The look on the face of this crew member holding a dead dolphin leaves no doubt: This represents a tragedy for the Sea Shepherd team. But the retrieved drift net will be used as physical evidence, required to complete a land-based investigation and prosecute the fishermen responsible for this illegal practice.

The Steve Irwin is still trying to track the Chinese-flagged fleet that set the illegal net. This aerial photo shows one of the vessels near a long illegal driftnet. According to Captain Siddharth Chakravarty, such driftnets can be up to 20 kilometers long - a legal net is limited to 2.5 kilometers in length.

Captain Chakravarty, pictured above, says the fleet responsible for this illegal driftnet has perpetrated at least 11 violations of international law, including: fishing with large-scale pelagic drift nets; unreported shark catch; retaining juvenile sharks onboard; and catching critically endangered southern bluefin tuna as a non-signatory party. This will form the basis of an official accusation.