Blacklisted Fishing Boat Seen

A BLACKLISTED fishing boat has been seen in the Ross Sea, more than 1500 kilometres south of Invercargill, Cabinet minister Rick Barker said yesterday.

An air force patrol carrying out surveillance against illegal fishing in the Ross Sea saw the Triton-1 in waters managed by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, Mr Barker said. “The vessel is flagged to Sierra Leone but appears to be operated by a Spanish company.”

“New Zealand will be reporting the sighting to (the commission’s) headquarters in Hobart urgently,” Mr Barker said.

Illegal fishing boats have wreaked havoc on toothfish stocks in the Southern Ocean as well as causing considerable environmental damage.

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