3 The Storegg Bank was discovered on 9 January 1934 by the Norwegian-owned ship the FLK Solglimt. The ship was searching for new whaling grounds when they discovered the plateau that suddenly rose out of the depths of the ocean, from 5,100 metres to 310 metres.
21 LA MAFIA GALLEGA
1 “Luis” and his colleague interviewed by the authors in Barcelona on 2 February 2015 and 7 June 2016.
2 Two of the lawyers are currently employed at the law firm Abogados Marítimos y Asociados in Panama, a country where anyone can purchase anonymity as long as they have the financial means. “The Panamanian lawyers having acted as registered directors do not run the business of such companies nor are they involved in their corporate affairs. We were and are NOT aware of the matter disclosed in your letter as we are concerned with the registration of the companies and with their compliance with the laws of Panama in that regard only.” Written by one of the members of the board of Estalares, the lawyer Iria Barrancos Domingo, in an email to the authors dated 17 May 2015.
3 On 20 April 2010, the environmental organization Oceana published a report in which they documented that the conglomerate of companies controlled by the Vidal family has received EUR 9.9 million in subsidies from the provincial government of Galicia, the Spanish fisheries authorities in Madrid and the EU from 1997 to 2009. During the same time period, vessels controlled by the same syndicate were fined, confiscated and observed dozens of times in connection with illegal fishing.
4 From the article “Spain doles out millions in aid despite fishing company’s record”, written by Kate Willson and Mar Cabra, and published by The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists on 2 October 2011. www.icij.org/projects/looting-seas-2/spain-doles-out-millions-aid-despite-fishing-companys-record (accessed 13.11.2016).
5 The sentence has been discussed in a number of publications, including the article “Spanish fishing firms fined £1.62m”, written by Ryan Hooper, and published by The Independent on 26 July 2012. www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/spanish-fishing-firms-fined-162m-7978843.html (accessed 28.09.2016).
23 BUENAS TARDES, BOB BARKER
1 The Melville Bank was discovered and mapped by scientists on board the ship the R/V Melville in 1978. The ship was named after the American engineer, rear admiral, author and explorer George Wallace Melville (1841–1912).
25 RAID ON THE HIGH SEAS
1 The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), in laymen’s terms called the Law of the Sea, regulates traffic and financial activity on the high seas and coastal states’ rights in own territorial waters and exclusive economic zones (EEZ). A coastal state has full sovereignty in its own territorial waters, which extend 12 nautical miles from the coast. A coastal state can also establish an economic zone with exclusive rights to exploit all the natural resources up to 200 nautical miles from its coast. The rest of the ocean is fair game; it belongs to nobody, but all of the 168 nations that have ratified the convention have made a commitment to secure the open ocean from pollution and destruction. There are also a number of regional conventions that regulate fishing on the high seas, such as CCAMLR, which regulates fishing around Antarctica.
2 The next day, the director of Sea Shepherd Paul Watson posted his indignant commentary “The Aussies came, they saw, they did nothing!” on the organization’s website. www.seashepherd.org/commentary-and-editorials/2015/02/27/the-aussies-came-they-saw-they-did-nothing-688 (accessed 26.09.2016).
26 OPERATION SPARROW
1 Assistant Managing Director Héctor Villa González of General de Control e Inspección Secretaría General de Pesca, a division subordinate to the Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente (MAGRAMA), interviewed by the authors in Madrid on 6 June 2016.
27 EXERCISE GOOD HOPE
1 Eve de Coning was interviewed by the authors on several occasions in Oslo in 2015 and 2016.
2 The descriptions of the military drill Exercise Good Hope were taken from the website of the South African Navy. www.navy.mil.za/archive/1503/ (accessed 26.09.2016).
3 A fishing vessel was almost sunk by the battleships that took part in Exercise Good Hope. The battleship mixed up the fishing vessel and a radio-controlled boat that was supposed to be a target for a shooting exercise at sea off Cape Agulhas. The crew of the fishing vessel almost died of fright when three large calibre grenades suddenly landed in the water 15 metres in front of the vessel in the darkness of night. The shipmaster immediately switched on all the lights on the ship and screamed over the radio that there were ten men on board.
28 THE BIRD OF ILL OMEN
1 The letter from Prince Charles to the (then) Minister of the Environment Elliot Morley, dated 21 October 2004, was made public by the British government on 13 May 2015. The letter can be accessed here: www.gov.uk/government/publications/prince-of-wales-correspondence-with-the-minister-for-environment (accessed 25.09.2016).
2 The quote is cited many places but originally stems from an article by the Associated Press. Here is a version of the article “Whaling clash sparks accusations”, published by The Wall Street Journal, 7 January 2010. www.wsj.com/articles/SB126283509683519109 (accessed 28.09.2016).
3 Article from Sea Shepherd’s website, “The time is right for Bob Barker to rescue the whales”, published 5 January 2010. www.seashepherd.org/news-and-media/2010/01/05/the-time-is-right-for-bob-barker-to-rescue-the-whales-265 (accessed 27.09.2016).
29 THE WANDERER
1 From a documentary piece about J. Michael Fay in the magazine Outside, written by Michael McRae, published 21 October 2011. www.outsideonline.com/1887471/how-nomad-found-home (accessed 28.09.2016).
2 J. Michael “Mike” Fay interviewed by the authors on Skype, 25 August 2016.
31 THE THIRD SHIP
1 David Carter interviewed by the authors in Melbourne in June 2016.
32 “YOU ARE NOTHING”
1 The article “Attempted suicide on board poaching vessel Thunder as Nigeria strips registry” was published on Sea Shepherd’s website 26 March 2015. www.seashepherdglobal.org/news-and-commentary/news/attempted-suicide-on-board-poaching-vessel-thunder-as-nigeria-strips-registry.html (accessed 27.09.2016).
33 THE SNAKE IN PARADISE
1 After the officers of the New Zealand battleship the HMNZS Wellington tried boarding the Kunlun in early January, the authorities in Wellington requested that Interpol issue a notice on the ship. On 21 January 2015, Interpol published a Purple Notice on the Kunlun.
2 www.facebook.com/paul.watson.1426/posts/10153640142298362 (accessed 27.09.2016).
34 THE ARMPIT OF AFRICA
1 Portions of the account about Equatorial Guinea’s history are based on the documentary Djevelens håndtrykk, (“The
