Fishermen, 21; Greenpeace, 0

I'm all for the right to protest, as long as it's done without destroying people's property, but despite the po-faced all-get-out seriousness with which Greenpeace protests are often reported, I usually find myself falling about with laughter at the response they elicit. They're great entertainment.

Take their latest tilt against bottom trawling. No, not down Ponsonby Road (that's a protest for Brian Tamaki's 'keep-your-bottoms-holy' crowd) -- the world's minor media is this morning carrying the report of a seaborne Greenpeace protest against bottom-trawl fishing being broken up when the fishermen began lobbing potatoes at them. No doubt the only reason the spuds missed was that it's hard to shoot straight through tears of laughter. I haven't laughed this much since the French confiscated a fleet of motley Mururoa-bound Greenpeace vessels over the screams of protest organiser Stephanie Mills back in 1997.

Somehow I doubt whether the organiser of this protest, Msss Carmen Gravat -- official title: "Greenpeace campaigner on board Rainbow Warrior" -- would share my sense of humour about this. However, you can tell her how funny you found it on +872 1302412.

[UPDATE: Amaltal Fishing says it will go to court today to seek an injunction against Greenpeace, which it accuses of high-seas "piracy"...

...Amaltal director Andrew Talley said Greenpeace campaigners from the Rainbow Warrior cut Ocean Reward's net in the Tasman Sea on Tuesday with knives and gaffs. "They are being attacked by a bunch of hairies and hippies with knives and gaffs," Talley said of his crew. "We are shocked at this attack. It's an act of piracy."]