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allafrica.com
Mozambique: Namibia Awaiting Information on Seized Fishing Ship
23 July
2008
...on
Tuesday it de-registered the "Paloma V"...which was
seized in New Zealand in May. A New Zealand court found that the "Paloma V"
had been involved in illegal fishing for toothfish in the Antarctic Ocean.
The "Paloma
V" is owned by Omunkete Fishing of Walvis Bay, while the "Antillas Reefer" is
owned by Ompala Fishing, also of Walvis Bay. Both are joint ventures between
the Uruguayan company Mabenal, and the Namibian company Gongala Fishing, and
thus seem to be two names for one and the same company...
3 News, New Zealand
Fishing vessel caught by NZ officials has licence revoked
24 July
2008
The New Zealand Government recommended
the vessel be blacklisted earlier this month, two months after fishery
officers found evidence the boat had been working with illegal fishing vessels
in the Southern Ocean...Thirty-four
countries have signed the CCAMLR convention, and blacklisting would mean
Paloma V would not be able to enter any ports in those nations ...
Cape Argus
US in attempts to make SA poacher
pay up
7 July
2008
The
United States government is attempting to wrest restitution in the order of
tens of millions of dollars from convicted Cape Town toothfish and rock
lobster poacher Arnold Bengis, who has served time in a US jail...The
restitution could be as much as $62-million - (about R480-million) at the
current exchange rate - if a US appeal hearing agrees that Bengis and his
partners in crime are liable to pay restitution and if it accepts a
"conservative" estimate by a Cape Town consultant of the damages they
inflicted on South Africa's fishing industry ...
-------------------
News.com.au
Anti-whalers locate Japanese fleet
23 February
2008
...Before
the Steve Irwin had found the Japanese whalers, the protest ship
chased another ship - Namibian Toothfish vessel the Antalles Reefer.
"The vessel refused to give a fishing permit number and threatened
the Steve Irwin by reporting that it was armed"...Captain
Paul Watson relayed the information to the Australian Customs vessel Oceanic
Viking and reported that a suspicious toothfish fishing vessel was operating
inside the Australian Economic Exclusion Zone...
FishUpdate.com
Oceana :
The end of pirate fishing vessel Viarsa 1
5 February
2008
THE Australian authorities have confirmed
that last December one of the most infamous pirate fishing vessels, the Viarsa
1, was scrapped at a shipyard in Mumbai, India ...
stuff.co.nz,
New Zealand
Pirate
fishing boat spotted by RNZAF
17 January
2008
A
pirate fishing boat spotted by an air force Orion in Antarctic waters has a
track record and has previously been seized by the French Navy...
Triton-1 was flagged to Sierra Leone but
appears to be operated by a Spanish company...
is well known to international authorities and used to be named Kinsho Maru
No. 18 ...
beehive.govt.nz, New Zealand
Illegal fishing vessel found in
Ross Sea
16 January
2008
An RNZAF patrol
carrying out surveillance against illegal fishing in the Ross Sea yesterday
saw the Triton-1 120 nautical miles within the area managed by the Commission
for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources...
"It's detection is of very great concern. New Zealand is committed to
combating illegal unreported and unregulated fishing in the Southern Ocean"...
Response action includes the banning of trade in fish from the vessel and
refusing access to members' ports for the vessel ...
The Salem News, USA
Saving the
Chilean sea bass: Beverly man honored for work to put poachers behind bars
2 January
2008
Today's pirates have
dropped the skull and crossbones, but they're still out there sailing the high
seas. Except instead of gold, they're after illegal fish... One of the leaders
in the fight to stop them is Beverly resident Andy Cohen... He was honored
recently for his role in putting these poachers behind bars...
There exists in the international fishing industry a growing network of
informants, intelligence officers and undercover agents - as Cohen was once -
working to identify and infiltrate illegal fishing operations and bring these
high-seas pirates to justice ...
Stuff.co.nz, New Zealand
Kiwi
companies vying for 'green' fish
17 December
2007
Two New Zealand fishing companies are vying
to be among the first to establish their green credentials in one of the
world's most remote fishing grounds...
Now New Zealand Long Line, a division of Sealord, and Sanford New
Zealand have joined forces with British-based Argos to get the right to put an
eco-label on the toothfish they catch in the Ross Sea area, giving them an
edge with consumers wanting to avoid pirated or unsustainably harvested fish...
the Ross Sea fishery was managed conservatively and successfully under the
Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, which
set quotas, monitored catches and decided on technical conservation
regulation. Others from the 21 companies that fish in the region will be able
to join the group seeking certification
...
The Age, Australia
Melbourne
develops a taste for medium rare toothfish
25 November 2007
Melbourne
restaurants are starting to serve Patagonian toothfish as efforts to drive out
illegal fishing of the threatened species from Australian Antarctic waters
appear to have succeeded...
efforts by Customs officials to clamp down on illegal operators have been
successful, with no illegal catches of the Patagonian toothfish reported in
Australian waters since the Cambodian-flagged vessel Taruman was caught in
September 2005 ...
Scoop.co.nz, New Zealand
Major
Progress on Antarctic Fisheries Conservation
6 November 2007
The
Environment and Conservation Organisations (ECO) welcomed the major step
forward in protecting the Antarctic marine environment agreed last week at the
Antarctic Marine Living Resources Meeting (CCAMLR) which concluded on Friday...
New Zealand and other countries will now have to research and develop measures
to avoid the impact of bottom longlining for toothfish on seamounts,
cold-water corals and sponge gardens
...
PR Newswire
(press release), New York
International Fisheries Conference Challenged to Protect Primary Food Source
for Antarctic Penguins, Whales and Seals
18 October 2007
When the
Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources
(CCAMLR) opens its 26th annual meeting next week, delegates will
address proposed initiatives to bring the
observation and management of the krill fishery onto
an equal footing with all other Southern Ocean fisheries while
also seeking new ways to combat illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU)
fishing for Chilean sea bass (Patagonian toothfish)...
AllAfrica.com, Washington
Regional
Fisheries Watchdog Sets Fish Quotas
18 October 2007
A Regional
fishing watchdog has decided to set fishing quotas for an endangered toothfish
species currently exploited in the southern areas of the Atlantic Ocean...Rapid
over-fishing by especially Asian fleets in recent years caused especially the
Patagonian toothfish stocks to decline at an alarming rate...The
regional body further adopted a measure to ensure that illegal, unregulated
and unreported fisheries (IUU) in the whole of Atlantic Ocean is minimised...
WWF International, Switzerland
Southern Ocean Guardian wins WWF
Conservations Medal
17 October 2007
"WWF's
highest accolade, the Duke of Edinburgh Conservation Medal, has been awarded
to Dr Denzil Miller, Executive Secretary for the Commission for the
Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR).
Dr Miller received the award for
implementing significant innovations by CCAMLR that have directly enhanced the
preservation of the Southern Ocean
"As the head of one of the world's leading conservation
commissions, Dr Miller has shown exemplary leadership, responding to the
global fishing crisis by pioneering new ways to safeguard our seas,
particularly in the Southern Ocean."
"His
ground-breaking work has helped to promote a balanced management approach,
halt illegal fishing, and reduce the number of seabirds killed by longline
fishing in one of the world's most important marine environments. These and
other contributions make him a worthy recipient of the Duke of Edinburgh
Conservation Medal..."
EduBourse, France
Questions and Answers on IUU Fishing
Source : Commission
Européenne (europa.eu.int)
17 October 2007
"What
is meant by Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing?...Why
is IUU fishing a threat to sustainable fisheries?...Why
do operators choose to fish illegally?...What
will the new regulation add compared to existing EU legislation?
etc. ..."
AFP, Windhoek
Limits imposed on Patagonian
toothfish catches
12 October
2007
"New
limits on catches of the endangered Patagonian toothfish, regarded as a
culinary delicacy in Japan, have been imposed by a Namibia-based regional
fishing organisation.
Hashali
Hamukuaya, executive of the South East Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (SEAFO),
said its scientific committee had recommended the limit on the fish whose
numbers are declining at an alarming rate.
"Only 263 metric tons of Patagonian toothfish may be caught starting January
1, 2008 for two years until the end of 2009."...
SARTMA.com,
Falkland Islands
South Georgia - Fishing and
Shipping News
10 October 2007
"The
toothfish season finished at the end of August, so the last Long-liners all
made their way to Stanley, Falklands, to have their catches verified. All of
the licensed vessels in the South Georgia fishery are required to have an end
of season catch verification inspection, and those vessels which belong to the
Marine Stewardship Council Group Scheme also have chain of custody
inspections, to enable them to market their catch as coming from a certified
sustainable fishery.
It was impressive to see five SG long-liners
fill all the available berths at the dock in Stanley early this month.
A key element of the stock assessment for the South Georgia Toothfish
fishery is the tag and recapture programme. Each vessel has an Observer
aboard, and part of their work is to tag Toothfish and return them to the sea
– aiming to tag and return three fish for every two tonnes caught
This season the ten Observers tagged over 5,000
fish in the SGMZ, and 583 tagged fish were recaught. The tagging programme
has been running for a number of years, so the recaptured fish will have been
tagged over a number of years. The number of tagged fish recaptured provides
vital information for assessing stock levels, and helps understanding of the
fishes’ movements within the zone and their growth rateTo encourage fishermen
to look out for the tags, they are given ten dollars per tagged fish they
deliver to the Observer.
Additionally, each finder goes into the annual
prize draw for $1000. The 2006 season's winner of the prize draw was Feliti
Kami from Tonga, a fisherman on the New Zealand flagged longliner “San
Aspiring”. Falkland Island First Secretary, Paul Martinez, took great pleasure
in presenting Feliti with his prize money and thanked him on behalf of South
Georgia Government for his diligence..."
New Regulations for U.S. Toothfish Imports
28 September 2007
"The
USA has adopted new regulations in respect of the import of Antarctic and
Patagonian toothfish to the USA, which came into effect on 24 September 2007.
The new regulations make the use of electronically issued and authorised
(E-CDS) catch and export documents mandatory for all imports of toothfish to
the USA. The new regulations also require that
toothfish to be imported to the USA must have been caught by vessels which
participate in CCAMLR's centralised VMS reporting. This includes vessels
fishing for toothfish outside the CCAMLR Convention Area, with the exception
of the artisanal fleets of Peru and Chile..."
The Mercury / Independent Online, South Africa
Vessel fined for carrying gill nets
29 August 2007
"A
north Korean-flagged fishing vessel has been arrested in Durban Harbour and
the owners have been fined R400 000, after fishery and wildlife officers
raided the ship and found illegal "wall of death" gill nets.
The nets, capable of forming a sea barrier stretching nearly 60km, have been
confiscated after the owners, Meteora Developments Incorporated, of Panama,
pleaded guilty in the Durban magistrate's court this week.
The fishing vessel, presently known as the Ina Maka, has undergone
several name changes and flag re-registrations in recent years.
Its previous name was the Black Moon and before that it was known as Dorita,
Magnus, Thula, Nicca and Nova Tuna..."
Alaska Journal of Commerce, USA
Trawler loads Alaska fish to blacklisted boat
22 July 2007
"...At
least two Seattle-based factory trawlers loaded fish products from their
Bering Sea harvest to a Korean tramp steamer that is on an international
blacklist because of its past involvement in illegal fishing activities...The
factory trawlers Ocean Peace and Seafisher transferred seafood to the M/V
Seedleaf, a refrigerated tramp steamer...The
Seedleaf was blacklisted by the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic
Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) for undocumented transport of fisheries
resources in the Great Southern Ocean in February 2003...Flagged
in Panama, the Seedleaf is owned by Boyang Ltd., a South Korean company with a
checkered past..."
Stuff.co.nz, New Zealand
Antarctic scientists to meet in
Christchurch
2 July 2007
"...Antarctic
scientists and international experts will gather in Christchurch on Monday for
three weeks' work analysing fish stocks and marine species...The
meeting will focus on methods for assessing Antarctic fish stocks, and for
describing relationships among Antarctic marine species...discussions
would also add further understanding to the impact of fisheries – including
krill and toothfish – on the Antarctic marine ecosystem...The
work the scientists will do in Christchurch will be presented to a CCAMLR
meeting in Hobart in October."
The Age, Australia
New powers to stop illegal fishing
12 June 2007
"...The
legislation strengthens forfeiture provisions and powers of surveillance and
gives fisheries, environment and law enforcement agencies greater powers to
share information..."These amendments will ensure
Australia can continue to give strong messages to foreign fishers about the
consequences of fishing illegally in our waters"..."
Ethical Corporation.com, United Kingdom
Sustainability and the sea: Illegal fishing - Slipping
through the governance net
7 June
2007
"
Trade in illegally caught fish is booming. But there are
grounds for hoping the culprits will be reeled in before long...The
UK government last month pledged £15 million towards helping Sierra Leone
protect its coastal waters from pirate fishing..."
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