Cruise ship protest catches fishers’ attention

People fishing off Warren Lewis fishing jetty in Port Chalmers watch a demonstration by Climate Liberation Aotearoa supporters ahead of cruise ship Norwegian Spirit leaving port bound for Fiordland yesterday.

About 14 people in kayaks and boats held flags and banners, while about 20 more supporters displayed placards from the jetty.

Climate Liberation Aotearoa spokeswoman Rosemary Penwarden called for the government to ban cruise ships from Fiordland, a Unesco World Heritage site.

‘‘It epitomises the tourist industry to the world. And the cruise ships are destroying it.

‘‘It’s remote, it’s dangerous. And we need to respect that.’’

Norwegian Spirit is 270m long, with capacity for about 2000 passengers and 900 crew.