News
The Chase Begins of the Fu Yuan Yu Fleet
Sunday, 20 Mar, 2016
Sea Shepehrd's Flagship, the Steve Irwin is currently in pursuit of the illegal fishing vessel, Fu Yuan Yu 076. “The role of the Steve Irwin is to follow this vessel, and to make sure that she pays for her crimes.” – Captain Sid Chakravarty
THE CRIMES OF THE FU YUAN YU FLEET
In the process of locating, documenting and collecting evidence from the fleet of fishing vessels using driftnets, we find that these vessels have perpetrated at least 11 violations.
These violations, as listed below, are in breach of various United Nations (UN) agreements, Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMO) rules and Flag-state responsibilities.
- VIOLATION 1: Fishing with large scale pelagic drift nets. (UNGA Resolution 46/125)
- VIOLATION 2: Fishing inside the IOTC RFMO Region with un-permitted vessels. (IOTC Resolution 15/04)
- VIOLATION 3: Fishing with a drift-net over 2.5 km in length. (IOTC Resolution 12/12)
- VIOLATION 4: Unreported Shark catch. (IOTC Resolution 05/05, Paragraph 1)
- VIOLATION 5: Retaining juvenile Sharks onboard. (IOTC Resolution 05/05, Paragraph 1)
- VIOLATION 6: Catching critically endangered Southern Bluefin Tuna as a non-contracting party. (In violation of CCSBT RFMO rules)
- VIOLATION 7: Catching smaller pelagic species as a non-signatory party. (In violation of SIOFA)
- VIOLATION 8: Using drift-nets set with a low hanging ratio resulting in a non-selective catch. (In violation of UN FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries)
- VIOLATION 9: Fishing of 7 species listed under annex 1 of the UNCLOS. (Not fulfilling responsibilities under the UN Fish Stocks Agreement)
- VIOLATION 10: Disregarding flag state duties. (As directed by International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea)
- VIOLATION 11: Illegal Transshipping at sea. (IOTC Resolution 14/06)