News
Australian Customs officials board illegal Patagonian toothfish poaching boat
An Illegal fishing boat which had been operating in the Southern Ocean has been located and boarded by Australian Maritime officials.
The Kunlun had been illegally taking Patagonian toothfish from Antarctic waters and is wanted by Interpol.
The New Zealand Navy first found the vessel during a patrol of the ocean six weeks ago.
Then the Sea Shepherd Conservation group chased the ship for a week after finding it in Australia’s Exclusive Economic Zone near Antarctica.
Australian Customs officials found and intercepted the ship near the Cocos Islands last week.
The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Agriculture, Senator Richard Colbeck, said the vessel had been monitored for some time.
“They claimed to be flagged to Equatorial Guinea,” he said.
“Equatorial Guinea told us they weren’t flagged and under international law we can board a vessel on the high seas so that’s what we’ve done.”
The Kunlun is on the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) international blacklist of Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported (IUU) vessels.
The New Zealand government said the Kunlun and two other boats had been illegally fishing in the southern ocean for months.
New Zealand’s foreign minister, Murray McCully, said he was pleased officials had intercepted the Kunlun.
“We are of course delighted to see that the Australian vessels have been able to gain access and add to the evidence,” he said.
“We want to put these people out of business and anything that’s going to contribute to that process is very welcome.”
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has been patrolling the Southern Ocean this summer, looking for illegal fishing boats.
The group found the Kunlun near Australia’s Mawson station in Antarctica three weeks ago.
Sea Shepherd captain Peter Hammarstedt said he wanted to see the boat impounded.
“It is a poaching vessel that was originally intercepted by the New Zealand Navy,” he said.
“It was subsequently shut down from fishing by Sea Shepherd and we certainly applaud the actions of the Australian Government in finally taking action against illegal fishing in the southern ocean and boarding the Kunlun.”
He said he suspected the vessel was en route from the Antarctic to South East Asia to offload its illegal catch.
Senator Colebeck said it would be illegal for Australian officials to arrest the boat’s crew because it was on the high seas.
But Mr Hammarstedt said the ship’s crew needed to face justice.
“Australia has every right to arrest this poaching vessel and we now expect to see it brought to the nearest Australian port to see justice done,” he said.
The Kunlun is now heading north and Australia will be watching where it goes.
The Kunlun is one of six ships which is believed to engage in IUU fishing for Patagonian toothfish in the southern ocean.
“We certainly applaud the actions of the Australian Government in finally taking action against illegal fishing in the southern ocean and boarding the Kunlun,” said Hammarstedt.
Source: www.abc.net.au
Today we are diving one of the outer reefs from an inflatable. As we reach the bottom, a reef octopus eases its way into the cover of a small crack in the coral while displaying it’s incredible ability to change colour. They are arguably one of the most charismatic of reef dwellers and it is always exciting for me to simply hover and watch. I would have spent longer and waited for it to come and investigate me, but as dive time is limited we wanted to move on and find a turtle.
The waters around Somabay are well protected and hold a rich variety of marine life. The reef edges are thriving colonies of coral and shoaling fish, while nearer the sea bed plenty of wildlife is still to be found.
Then we located the turtles. They are very used to divers and so show little concern when slowly approached. In fact occasionally one will come over to see what you are doing. There is always huge excitement when diving with a turtle. The shear thrill of sharing a moment with another species.
What a fantastic way to finish a wonderful few days diving and I would like to thank SOMABAY, ORCA DIVING and THE BREAKERS for making my stay such a good one.
I had a great time, with diving everyday either on the house reef or on one of the offshore reefs by inflatable or larger day boat. Orca diving provided high quality equipment and facilities while the staff were all very friendly and welcoming. The Breakers was right on the coast with nice rooms, good food and once again friendly staff making the whole trip a real pleasure.
Soma Bay covers an entire peninsula and is home to several resorts as well as residential compounds.
As well as scuba diving, Somabay caters for many other sports and activities, and so is perfect for families as well as individuals and/or groups. And of course there is always time to lay peacefully on the beach under the Egyptian sun.
Book your next Red Sea dive adventure with SOMABAY! For more information, visit www.somabay.com.
Stay at the Breakers Diving & Surfing Lodge when you visit! For more information, visit www.thebreakers-somabay.com.
Find out more about ORCA Dive Clubs at SOMABAY at www.orca-diveclubs.com/en/soma-bay-en.
Day three of my trip to Somabay and we were spending the day on the Lady Christina and diving on the wreck of the Salem Express.
Diving wrecks for me is always one of mixed emotions. The excitement of diving a wreck is more than often tempered by the thought of loss of life when she sank. The Salem Express was a passenger ship and a roll-on/roll-off ferry travelling from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to Safaga, Egypt. Most passengers were of poor class travelling home from their holidays while around 150 people were returning home from their pilgrimage to Mecca.
The ship struck a reef and sank within 20 minutes. Passengers were trapped below deck and the ship was filled with fear and panic.
The wreck area is strewn with personal belongings from the crew and passengers such as a transistor radio and a flat iron for clothes. A diver at sometime has put them in a prominent place to be seen.
Tragically only one life boat was launched while the others went down with the ship. More than 600 men, women and children lost their lives here.
It’s a stark reminder that the sea can be unforgiving and so when we dive on such wrecks we should do so with humble regard.
Returning to the surface, shoals of fish are gathered under our boat and seem to be welcoming us back into the light.
Back at the Breakers I sat in the dining area with a beer and a very good meal while my thoughts still remained with the day’s dive on the Salem Express.
Check in for part 3 tomorrow for Jeff’s last day of diving with Somabay on the off-shore reefs looking for turtles.
Book your next Red Sea dive adventure with SOMABAY! For more information, visit www.somabay.com.
Stay at the Breakers Diving & Surfing Lodge when you visit! For more information, visit www.thebreakers-somabay.com.
Find out more about ORCA Dive Clubs at SOMABAY at www.orca-diveclubs.com/en/soma-bay-en.
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