Vanuatu police, aided by US Coast Guard, say Chinese vessels violated fishing laws

Reuters:

SYDNEY, March 6- Six Chinese fishing boats were found to be violating Vanuatu’s fisheries law after being inspected by local police who were on board the first U.S. Coast Guard boat to patrol the waters of the Pacific Islands nation, Vanuatu police and officials said.

The infringements included failing to record the fish caught in log books, a fisheries official told Reuters, noting it was the first time in several years police could inspect Chinese boats that fish in Vanuatu’s exclusive economic zone and then offload their catch in other countries.

One of the Chinese vessels that police said had breached the law is owned by Chinese state-owned company CNFC Overseas Fisheries, which has a joint venture with Vanuatu’s government called Sino-Van, a Reuters review of ship registration details and company filings showed.

Yakar Silas, principal monitoring, control and surveillance officer with Vanuatu’s Fisheries Department, said penalty notices would be sent to several Chinese companies and their local agents in Vanuatu.

Most violations were by Chinese fishing fleets that fished Vanuatu waters but were based overseas, he said.

“The patrol gave the opportunity to inspect foreign vessels that are fishing in Vanuatu waters and not coming into port and offloading their catch into foreign ports, for example Fiji,” he added. “They are all Chinese vessels.”

The Chinese embassy said the Chinese boats had fishing permits from the Vanuatu government and were fishing legally. “Chinese companies obey Vanuatu laws,” an embassy spokesperson said in the email.