The Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise will sail today from Norway on a mission to save cod from being pushed towards extinction in the North Sea.

During the voyage, which will include waters off the east of Scotland, Greenpeace campaigners will be confronting trawlers from Scotland and encouraging them to stop fishing for cod.

The campaigners fear that, if fishing for cod is allowed to continue, then cod will be wiped out in the North Sea. They are calling not only for a halt to cod fishing, but also for large areas of the North Sea to become protected as "marine reserves".

North Sea cod has been classified as a "threatened and declining species" since 2002. Scientists say that a cod stock in the North Sea of 150,000 tonnes is the bare minimum required, yet stocks are currently estimated at under 70,000 tonnes.

The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), the official scientific advisory body to the European Union, has described North Sea cod as being "outside safe biological limits". They have repeatedly called for a complete ban on cod fishing in the North Sea every year since 2001, yet have been ignored by politicians and the fishing industry.

Willie Mackenzie, Greenpeace campaigner onboard the Arctic Sunrise, said: "We're in the North Sea to save the cod from extinction, and a huge part of the Scottish fishing fleet from collapsing.

"If fishing for cod in the North Sea is allowed to continue, North Sea cod will be wiped out.

"In the very near future, the last cod will be taken from the plundered waters of the North Sea. This would be bad news for the oceans, and devastating for the fishing industry."

Greenpeace is calling on the UK Environment Minister, David Miliband, to deliver a network of marine reserves in the proposed UK Marine Bill and also through the EU Marine Strategy Directive

For more information, contact the Greenpeace press office on 020 7865 8255.

A media briefing on North Sea cod is available here.