Blacklisted Nth Korean boats caught illegally fishing
The government has dobbed in two North Korean fishing vessels caught fishing illegally in the Ross Sea.
The government has dobbed in two North Korean fishing vessels caught fishing illegally in the Ross Sea.
Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully said that in February, a surveillance RNZAF P3 Orion detected the Xiong Nu Baru 33 and Sima Qian Baru 22 fishing to the east of the Ross Sea, within the area managed by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR).
The Xiong Nu Baru 33 was using banned deep-sea gillnets.
"The detection of these illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing vessels in the Southern Ocean is of grave concern to New Zealand," Mr McCully said.
The Xiong Nu Baru 33 was believed to be the former Draco-1 and the Sima Qian Baru 22 was believed to be the former Corvus – vessels on the commission's IUU vessel blacklist.
New Zealand reported them to the CCAMLR, and its 25 members would not allow these vessels to access their ports nor allow the import of any fish caught by them.
"The New Zealand government will be lodging its concerns about these vessels with the government of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea," Mr McCully said.
NZPA
Thu, 07 Apr 2011
Thu, 07 Apr 2011
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Blacklisted Nth Korean boats caught illegally fishing
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