International push to bring poachers to justice

Foreign Minister Murray McCully says that an international effort is underway to bring those responsible for illegal fishing in the Southern Ocean to justice.

“HMNZS WELLINGTON has collected extensive evidence of illegal fishing by three vessels in the Southern Ocean and this will enable further action by the appropriate authorities,” Mr McCully says.

“This morning I spoke with Equatorial Guinea’s Foreign Minister, Mr Agapito Mba Mokuy. He assured me that we have Equatorial Guinea’s full cooperation in terms of investigating this matter and confirmed that the illegal vessels were not flagged to Equatorial Guinea.“

Two of the illegal vessels claim to be owned by Stanley Management, a likely shelf company, which shares an address with the Panama-based offices of law firm Sucre, Arias & Reyes. Efforts to obscure the true ownership of illegal fishing vessels are common and New Zealand officials are in discussions with the Panamanian authorities about investigating these possible links.

“We are also working closely with Spanish authorities as two of the vessels have previously been linked to the Spanish-based syndicate, Vidal Armadores.

“Following an investigation by New Zealand in 2008, the Spanish Government fined Vidal Armadores for illegal fishing, carried out by one of the same vessels intercepted by this latest patrol. Everything we have seen points to Vidal Armadores continuing to control and manage this illegal activity in the Southern Ocean.

“Shutting down this sort of illegal fishing is not straight forward and requires the full support of international partners. We are working with the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, INTERPOL, and other governments to put these interests out of business and protect the Southern Ocean,” Mr McCully says.