The delegation in Mozambique of the European Commission regards illegal fishing in Mozambican waters as a real threat to efforts to safeguard the country's maritime resources.

This, states a European Commission release, is the conclusion reached after a project involving fisheries patrols in Mozambican waters, designed to train Mozambican staff in fisheries monitoring, control and vigilance.

This project, financed by the European Commission to the tune of 14.5 million euros (about 17.5 million US dollars), also involved a South African patrol vessel, the "Eagle Star".

During this operation two pirate vessels, one registered in Indonesia and the other in China, were surprised fishing illegally in the Bank of Sofala, and were escorted to the port of Beira.

These ships were licensed to fish for tuna, but the fish found in their holds was 70 tonnes of shark. Most of the fish caught were hammerhead sharks - this is a large species of shark which is under threat of extinction.

The South African ship used is a trawler, and was once itself a pirate vessel. It has been converted into a patrol boat, but does not look like one. It can therefore approach other fishing boats, without their crews realising that they are under surveillance.

"The main conclusion drawn from this exercise is that illegal fishing is a real threat to Mozambique, and that properly organised inspections can contribute to the sustainable use of fisheries resources", stressed the release.

Meanwhile the Sofala provincial fisheries director, Nelia Domingos, cited in the Beira paper "Diario de Mocambique", revealed that the two vessels seized were using a licence for tuna fishing granted by the Fisheries Ministry to a Mozambican citizen resident in Maputo.

She would not name the licence holder, on the grounds that the investigation is still under way.