‘Poacher ship’ seized in Mozambican waters carried gear for longline fishing of… Tuna!

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‘Poacher ship’ seized in Mozambican waters carried gear for longline fishing of… Tuna!

4:21 CAT | 18 Mar 2016

Notícias / "The Nessa 7" docked in Maputo port

The Mozambican maritime authorities have decided to confiscate the “Nessa 7”, a longline tuna fishing boat flying the Panamanian flag, which was seized in December when it was caught fishing illegally in Mozambican waters.

The boat and all the fishing gear on board revert to the Mozambican state. In addition, the owner must pay a fine of 4.5 million meticais (about US$94,000), and the captain is banned from fishing in Mozambican waters for 36 months.

The national director of operations in the Ministry of the Sea, Inland Waters and Fisheries, Leonild Chimarizene, showed the confiscated boat to reporters on Wednesday. He said that, immediately after it was seized, it was taken to Maputo Fishing Port for inspection.

This measure was taken because of contradictions in the initial statements made by the captain, irregularities in maritime safety aspects, and the lack of any request to enter Mozambican waters.

“From the inspection and investigations made”, said Chimarizene, “it was shown that the vessel entered Mozambican waters without any communication or prior authorization by the relevant Mozambican authorities. It was hiding identity marks, and was exercising activities concerned with fishing, without authorization. On board it possessed gear for longline fishing of tuna”.

The boat was not flying any flag, although a Panamanian flag was found on board. Nor was it displaying any registration number. The boat is an industrial fishing vessel, 46.72 metres long.

The owner of the “Nessa 7” has been named as Anthony Rowan Pentz, with a professional address in the South African city of Durban. The captain is Anthony Clement, from Myanmar. He and eight crew members were on board when the boat was seized. Clement is still in Mozambique, awaiting deportation.

The authorities intend to turn the “Nessa 7” from poacher into gamekeeper. It will join the vessels used by the Mozambican maritime authorities to patrol the country’s waters – just as the “Antillas Reefer”, seized for illegal fishing in 2008, was converted into a patrol vessel, equipped with high technology surveillance equipment.

Indeed, it was inspectors on the “Antillas Reefer” who in December boarded and seized the “Nessa 7”.

The “Antillas Reefer” was flying the Namibian flag when it was caught, but its crew consisted mainly of Spaniards. It was fishing illegally for sharks when it was seized.

Source: AIM