MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Hot pursuit of Uruguayan longliner poacher

A Uruguayan-flagged vessel suspected of poaching in Antarctic waters is under hot pursuit in the storm-lashed Southern Ocean by an Australian fisheries patrol boat, officials said Tuesday August 12. “Viarsa” was first spotted by the patrol boat Southern Supporter last Thursday near Heard and McDonald islands inside the Australian fishing zone about 4,000 kilometres (2,500 miles) south-west of the Australian mainland.

The Viarsa's target was the highly-prized Patagonian toothfish, a deep sea fish for which strict quotas are set in the sub-Antarctic oceans where it is found. It fetches high prices, particularly in the United States and some Asian markets.

Australian Justice Minister Chris Ellison said despite heavy seas and foul weather, the Southern Supporter was chasing the Uruguayan vessel as part of an increased effort by Australian authorities to protect the exclusive economic zone in the Southern Ocean.

"When it did not stop ... it was engaged by the Southern Supporter and that hot pursuit has been continuing since then," Ellison told reporters. "The vessel is now in international waters heading west and we are intent on this pursuit continuing." The chase is expected to continue for days at least, but Ellison would not say when the vessel was expected to be caught.

"The hot pursuit is on international waters and the law of the sea applies in relation to the pursuit, I'm not going to signal what options we're considering," he said. Fisheries Minister Ian Macdonald said Australia had been in contact with the Uruguayan authorities throughout the chase and it is their responsibility for ensuring their ships respected international fishing laws.

"The Uruguayan government have cooperated but the principal enforcement should be by the flag state that is, by the Uruguayan government," Macdonald said. "Their officials have worked over the weekend to contact the vessel although I understand from the Uruguayans that they are having some difficulty in contacting the "Viarsa". (FIS/MP).-