NZ navy boards Taiwanese boat
The navy has been involved in drama on the high seas, after sailors and fisheries officials boarded a Taiwanese-flagged vessel in New Zealand waters.
The Yi Rong No. 6 was spotted close to the Kermadec Islands, in New Zealand’s exclusive economic zone, earlier this month.
A crew from the offshore patrol vessel HMNZS Otago went aboard the Taiwanese boat on August 9 and spent two hours inspecting it.
The ship wasn’t illegally fishing in New Zealand waters – but fisheries officers did find a number of breaches of international fishing rules.
The New Zealand Government reported the breaches to the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission, the international body responsible for policing fishing in the region.
It also informed the Taiwan Fisheries Agency, which is expected to investigate and impose any necessary sanctions.
It is likely the longliner was fishing for prized southern blue fin tuna.
Taiwan is one of the world’s largest high-seas fishing nations, and is said to run about a third of the longline vessels operating in the west and central Pacific.
It has recently come under international pressure for the mistreatment of foreign workers on the fleet, and fishing violations.
The European Union issued a ‘‘yellow card’’ warning to Taiwan, labelling the Taiwanese Government ‘‘unco-operative in fighting illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing’’.
But Fisheries NZ won’t say what breaches its officials found aboard Yi Rong No. 6.
Compliance manager Greg Keys said: ‘‘New Zealand is bound by international law and the measures set out under the various conventions that exist under international law. As such, New Zealand has no legal authority to release details on alleged breaches.’’
Keys said data from satellite based monitoring systems was examined by fisheries analysts who ‘‘concluded that the activity of the vessel wasn’t considered to be consistent with fishing within the [exclusive economic zone].’’
The Foreign Affairs Ministry was not briefed on the inspection but a ‘‘full report’’ was sent to Taiwan on August 10, he said.
The Defence Force referred questions to Fisheries NZ.
The Western and Central Pacific Ocean supplies 60 per cent of the world’s tuna, worth as much as $5 billion a year.
Undaunted by the inspection, the vessel has remained just outside New Zealand’s waters ever since, close to the Kermadecs.
It is thought the crew are ‘‘fishing the fence’’ – reeling in tuna before it reaches the safety of the island arc.
Investigator Tim McKinnel spent two years probing the fishing industry for Greenpeace.
‘‘The Taiwanese government have form for being impotent and incredibly lax when it comes to offending by vessels flagged to Taiwan, in terms of environmental crimes and human rights abuses ... they just sweep them under the carpet,’’ McKinnel said.
Breaches could be anything from safety aboard the ship, to ‘‘shark fins on board the ship, catching fish they aren’t licensed to catch, or their records mightn’t be in order,’’ he said.