NZ welcomes interception of IUU fishing vessels

Foreign Minister Murray McCully has welcomed the news that two well-known illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing vessels, Songhua and Yongding, have been found and boarded by local authorities in Cabo Verde.

“These are two of the three fishing vessels that were intercepted by the Royal New Zealand Navy in the Southern Ocean in January,” Mr McCully says.

“We are encouraged by the action taken by the Government of Cabo Verde and New Zealand has offered its full assistance in taking action against these vessels.

“As is common practice with IUU fishing vessels, they appear to have changed their names, this time to the Kadei and Luampa, and reflagged to Sierra Leone.  New Zealand has had confirmation from the Sierra Leone maritime authority that the vessels do not appear on their registry.

“New Zealand has been working closely with international partners to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing in the Southern Ocean

"Five of the seven vessels that have regularly fished in the Southern Ocean over the past five years have been detained this year, and one has sunk.  

“Shutting down IUU fishing is not straightforward and requires the full support of international partners. We are working with INTERPOL and other key governments to put these interests out of business and protect the Southern Ocean,” Mr McCully says.