It has taken a couple of months to get everything in order, but I am now very happy to be able to announce my most unlikely, and most exciting, project to date as a blogger about EU affairs – I am going on board the Greenpeace boat Arctic Sunrise, as part of the boat’s ‘Support Sustainable Fishermen’ tour around European waters.

I’ll be joining the boat on 27th May in St Malo, and will be sailing across the channel to Fowey, disembarking on 30th May. I’m happy to be on the ship in French waters as I speak French and will be using that to try to better understand the views of local fishermen.

The aim of the project is to support sustainable fishing, in the context of the reforms of the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy. I’ll be talking to and interviewing fishermen, trying to work out how sustainable fishing could work in European waters, and live blogging and tweeting my experiences. I will also be writing a few longer pieces.

Costs of getting myself to and from the ship, and any other additional costs, I am financing out of my own pocket. Accommodation on board is provided by Greenpeace.

This will be the first of many blog entries about the voyage!