http://www.news.com.au/world/greenpeace-ac...i-1225875754880

A GREENPEACE activist trying to free tuna from a commercial fishing net in the Mediterranean was harpooned through the leg by fishermen on a French boat, the environmental group said. "In a non-violent action, Greenpeace activists in zodiac boats attempted to lower the side of a purse seine net with sand bags to free the fish," said Isabelle Philippe of Greenpeace France.

"At that moment, fishermen violently attacked the activists, harpooning one of them through the leg," she said.

The injured man, a British national identified by the group as Frank Huston, was transferred to a hospital in Malta where he was to undergo surgery on Friday evening (local time).

"His life is not threatened, but he is in serious condition," Ms Philippe said.

The fishing ship, the Jean-Marie Christian VI, was one of several French tuna vessels in the area when the attack occurred in international waters near Malta, she added.

Several boats surrounded the zodiacs, threatening them with knives attached to long poles and some of the fishermen also fired flare guns at a Greenpeace helicopter hovering overhead to monitor, Greenpeace said in a statement.

A French navy vessel was seen arriving in the area after the clash had ended, the statement added.

Greenpeace said that it had stationed two ships in the Mediterranean, the Rainbow Warrior and Arctic Sunrise, to confront tuna fishing boats during the short tuna fishing season.

Pascal Husting, director of Greenpeace France, condemned the fishermen for their violent response.

"The tuna fishermen only know brutality: all our militants have are bags of sand to weigh down the nets and free the fish," he said.

Bertrand Wendling, head of Sathoan, which represents the owners of many of the French tuna fishing boat including the one whose nets were targeted by Greenpeace, accused the group of interfering with a legal business activity and jeopardising the livelihoods of ordinary fishermen.

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It seems people in the Mediterranean can't stay away from each other's boats.

...and then there's Greenpeace. Taking sand bags to a harpoon fight.

The activists are ruining these fishermen’s livelihood and then justifying sabotage because they do not use a gun. The justifications these new age criminals use are beyond belief.