☰

Investigation No. 12 Avoidance of penalties: the TXORI ARGI

by FISH-i Africa

Summary

The Spanish flagged and owned purse seiner TXORI ARGI was fined for fishing without a licence in Mozambican waters and failing to report their catch.

Detailed description

The Spanish flagged and owned purse seiner TXORI ARGI was fined for fishing without a licence in Mozambican waters and failing to report their catch. The vessel was detained whilst a settlement of USD 1.2 million was agreed and a bank guarantee was given. Upon release of the vessel, authorities in Mozambique were informed the fine would not be paid. Mozambique responded by proposing to place the TXORI ARGI on the illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing list of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC). In addition, fishing licences of other vessels owned by the same company were suspended by Mozambique. In the end, a settlement of USD 700 000 was agreed, the IUU listing of the vessel was lifted as was the suspension of the fishing licences.

More Information

Submitted By

NMU CCT

Created At

2019-07-03 07:40:22

Revised At

2019-07-03 08:00:48

Media Link

Click Here

Main Focus

Investigations

Find Resources

FISH-i Africa

The Western Indian Ocean is home to abundant fish resources that sustain a thriving fishing industry, which in turn support local economies and a provides food and jobs in the region and abroad. These resources also fuel one of the world’s illegal fishing hot spots – destroying the marine environment, robbing national economies, stealing food and livelihoods from local people, and undermining legitimate industry. In response – eight countries – Comoros, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, Somalia and Tanzania – have joined forces to tackle this problem. These countries had already pledged to take actions against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, but in reality, with combined waters of nearly five million square kilometres and limited assets and capacity, overcoming the complex web of large-scale illegal fishing was a challenge that they could not take on individually. So in late 2012 FISH-i Africa was formed with the aim to improve cooperation, information and intelligence sharing in order to take enforcement actions against illegal fishing operators.