Korean Vessels Fined For Illegal Fishing

April 29, 2009

Release from: Independent Online (South Africa)

The captain and first officer of two Korean-flagged ships have been sentenced to a fine of R500 000 or five years in prison each for contravening their permit conditions, environment officials said on Wednesday.

During routine inspections both vessels were found to be catching more fish than they were allowed to, as well as fish not listed on their permits, environment and tourism department spokesperson Carol Moses said in a statement.

The crew of the MFV Oryong 371 and the MFV Oryong 373 were found guilty of contravening the Marine Living Resources Act of 1998.

The MFV Oryong 371 off-loaded 18.5 tons of fish for cold storage at Cape Town harbour, although its application stated they only had 7,5 tons of fish on board for discharge.

"A total of 667kg undeclared shark fins was also confiscated. They omitted the fact that they had shark fins on the vessel from their permits."

The vessel was also found guilty of illegally off-loading 18,1 tons of fish from one vessel to another.

The MFV Oryong 373 off-loaded 389kg of shark fin, more than the limit stipulated on its permit.

Moses said the crew of both vessels cut shark fins from the trunks and threw the bodies back into the water - in contravention of international fishing conservation measures.

Moses said the captain and first officer had already paid their fines, but she was not sure whether they were still in South African waters.

In addition to their sentences, the crews forfeited their catch to the state.

"The department is in the process of providing all the details of both vessels to the appropriate international and regional fisheries organisations for consideration for further sanctions."