Spanish ship in hot water for illegal fishing

A SPANISH-REGISTERED ship and its crew were arrested at Luderitz yesterday, after the vessel had allegedly been caught fishing illegally in Namibian waters on Monday.

Fisheries inspectors on board one of Namibia’s fisheries patrol boats, the Nathaniel Maxuilili, spotted the vessel Malar fishing in Namibian territorial waters on Monday afternoon, the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources’ Director of Operations and Acting Permanent Secretary, Peter Amutenya, said yesterday. The Malar was subsequently ordered to steam for Luderitz, where it arrived yesterday and it and its crew were detained, to be charged with illegally fishing in Namibian waters.It is understood that the vessel was found due south of Luderitz, but the exact location could not be confirmed with the Fisheries Ministry yesterday.The arrest of the Malar and its crew is the first such step to be taken against alleged illegal fishermen in Namibian waters in about half a decade.Illegal fishing in Namibia’s territorial waters appeared to have abated sharply after a spate of high-profile arrests, mostly of Spanish-registered vessels, were carried out in the first years of Namibia’s Independence.Those arrests resulted in a total of eight ships, with a total value of close to N$150 million, being confiscated by the Namibian authorities, while several crew members were also criminally prosecuted for illegally fishing in Namibian waters.In the operation on Monday, fisheries inspectors who came upon the Malar during routine inspection and surveillance operations at sea, boarded the vessel and found that it had its longlines in the water, Amutenya said.The inspectors also established that on June 8 the vessel had been issued with a licence to fish for shark and tuna in South African waters, but that it had no such licence from Namibia.It took more than two hours to haul the vessel’s fishing gear out of the ocean again, Amutenya related.He said the vessel, which is registered in Vigo, Spain, had a crew of 12 on board.The crew consisted of eight Peruvians, two Spaniards, one Chilean and one South African.By 09h00 yesterday, the Malar had docked at Luderitz, where it and its crew are now under Police guard, according to Amutenya.According to other sources at Luderitz the crew is expected to appear in court at the southern harbour town in order to be formally charged today.The Malar was subsequently ordered to steam for Luderitz, where it arrived yesterday and it and its crew were detained, to be charged with illegally fishing in Namibian waters.It is understood that the vessel was found due south of Luderitz, but the exact location could not be confirmed with the Fisheries Ministry yesterday.The arrest of the Malar and its crew is the first such step to be taken against alleged illegal fishermen in Namibian waters in about half a decade.Illegal fishing in Namibia’s territorial waters appeared to have abated sharply after a spate of high-profile arrests, mostly of Spanish-registered vessels, were carried out in the first years of Namibia’s Independence.Those arrests resulted in a total of eight ships, with a total value of close to N$150 million, being confiscated by the Namibian authorities, while several crew members were also criminally prosecuted for illegally fishing in Namibian waters.In the operation on Monday, fisheries inspectors who came upon the Malar during routine inspection and surveillance operations at sea, boarded the vessel and found that it had its longlines in the water, Amutenya said.The inspectors also established that on June 8 the vessel had been issued with a licence to fish for shark and tuna in South African waters, but that it had no such licence from Namibia.It took more than two hours to haul the vessel’s fishing gear out of the ocean again, Amutenya related.He said the vessel, which is registered in Vigo, Spain, had a crew of 12 on board.The crew consisted of eight Peruvians, two Spaniards, one Chilean and one South African.By 09h00 yesterday, the Malar had docked at Luderitz, where it and its crew are now under Police guard, according to Amutenya.According to other sources at Luderitz the crew is expected to appear in court at the southern harbour town in order to be formally charged today.