According to reports in the Spanish press, the case against Vidal Armadores, the beneficial owners of a fleet of vessels operating at various times fishing for toothfish in the Southern Ocean collapsed on a point of law.
Spanish government last Friday announced penalties that could reach more than €11 million against Spanish nationals, including companies involved in illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. An EU coalition of three international NGOs, including Environmental Justice Foundation, Oceana and WWF described the fines as a historic moment in the battle against IUU fishing and are calling on other EU member states to follow suit with their own nationals.
New Zealand fishing company Sanford is welcoming news that a Nigerian registered vessel has been detained in Malaysia and 330 tons of toothfish confiscated from it. Sanford is one of only two New Zealand companies permitted to source toothfish from the Ross Sea fishery.
Australia has intercepted in the Southern Ocean the fishing vessel Perlon, believed to have been operating under a false flag in defiance of international conventions, according to an official report from the Ministry of Immigration and Border Protection.
Operation Icefish, Sea Shepherd's first campaign to target Illegal, Unregulated, Unreported (IUU) fishing of toothfish in the waters of Antarctica, and the organization's longest, continuous at-sea campaign to date has concluded with unexpected success.
One of Australia's biggest commercial fishing businesses has joined forces with militant environment group Sea Shepherd in an unheralded bid to stop pirate fishing boats. David Carter, from Perth-based Austral Fisheries, said the company was joining forces with Sea Shepherd because it wanted to lend moral support to the group's efforts to stamp out poaching.
The crew of the Sea Shepherd ship, Bob Barker, has confirmed that a set of buoys, attached to a beacon, were set out by the crew of the Thunder under the cover of night, indicating that the vessel is resuming illegal fishing activity.
Two illegal fishing boats that evaded the New Zealand navy are now in Australian waters, but it's unclear whether local authorities will intervene. Conservation group Sea Shepherd on Monday said one of their ships patrolling the area, the Sam Simon, intercepted the Yongding and the Kunlun at 11.30am AEDT with prohibited fishing gear on its deck.