MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Australia feels powerless about toothfish poaching.

An Australian fisheries patrol boat was powerless to stop six ships from suspected illegal fishing for the threatened Patagonian toothfish, reports the Federal Government in Canberra.

The ships were flagged to Georgia and the African nation of Togo, of which neither is a signatory of the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, said Australian Fisheries Minister Ian Macdonald.

Australia's armed fisheries patrol vessel Oceanic Viking was monitoring their movements in the Southern Ocean, but cannot act to stop them fishing, insisted Senator Macdonald.

"They wouldn't be down there unless they are fishing for Patagonian toothfish and the evidence we get from our captain and crew of the Oceanic Viking is that they are fishing and taking Patagonian toothfish," he told ABC radio. "The difficulty for the Australian vessel is that under international law as it currently is, they are not doing anything illegal. But responsible fishing nations have actually stopped fishing in that area because of concern about the stocks of Patagonian toothfish," he added. "These vessels from rogue nations - flags of convenience nations - are simply ignoring the problems of sustainability, the environmental problems and are fishing without any limitation whatsoever".

Australia had notified the governments of Togo and Georgia, but it had received no positive response to that, stressed Senator Macdonald.

The minister was recently attending two international conferences on fishing and lobbied strongly to have systems put in place to prevent such ships fishing illegally. "We're trying to encourage governments around the world to do something positive, do something tangible. Australia's focus and goal is to get that international will and that's what we've been doing at international meetings"

According to the Australian Environment Department, an estimated 32,000 tonnes of Patagonian toothfish were caught illegally in 1997-98 alone.

In 2003, Australian Customs and Fisheries officers chased and caught the Uruguayan-flagged Viarsa 1 in the Southern Ocean in a high profile three week pursuit that continued for 7000 km through some of the world's most dangerous seas.