Illegal North Korean fishing vessels detected near the Ross Sea

Foreign Affairs Minister, Murray McCully says two North Korean fishing vessels have been intercepted by a RNZAF P3 Orion carrying out surveillance against illegal fishing in the Ross Sea.

In February the Xiong Nu Baru 33 and Sima Qian Baru 22 were detected fishing to the east of the Ross Sea within the area managed by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR).

The Xiong Nu Baru 33 was using deep-sea gillnets, which are banned in the CCAMLR Convention Area.

"Deep-sea gill netting and associated ghost-fishing by lost and discarded nets have serious detrimental effects on the marine environment and many marine species", says Fisheries Minister Phil Heatley.

"Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing poses a severe threat to the sustainability of valuable toothfish stocks and has caused considerable environmental damage in the Southern Ocean," he said.

"The detection of these illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing vessels in the Southern Ocean is of grave concern to New Zealand", says Mr McCully

The Xiong Nu Baru 33 is believed to be the former Draco-1 and the Sima Qian Baru 22 is believed to be the former Corvus. Both vessels are on CCAMLR’s IUU vessel blacklist.

New Zealand has reported its findings to the CCAMLR Commission. This should help ensure that the Commission’s 25 members do not allow these vessels to access their ports nor allow the import of any fish caught by them.

"The New Zealand Government will be lodging its concerns about these vessels with the Government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea", Mr McCully said.

Ministers noted new naval Off-shore Patrol Vessels, which have been undergoing sea trials, will further enhance New Zealand’s maritime patrol capability in future seasons.