ORTHONGEL: IUU Charges Against French Seiner “Completely Inappropriate” ff

By atuna.com

The illegal fishing charges against the French-flagged tuna purse seiner Sterenn are “completely inappropriate,” says Michel Goujon, director of Orthongel, the French tuna-boat owners association.

The FV Sterenn, owned by France Thon, was arrested by Sierra Leone authorities on Tuesday for failing to communicate its entry to the country’s EEZ as well as failing to submit catch reports.

In an email, Goujon clarifies the local agent did not provide an email address to which the captain could declare his entry and daily catch. These declarations were instead made to Orthongel which sends quarterly catch reports for each vessel to Sierra Leone under their fishing agreement, he says. The captain, he adds, was also not allowed to write the reasoning for his failure to communicate on the control report.

Goujon also notes that while the controller reported the ship’s call sign was missing on the portside of the vessel, the controller did confirm the call sign on top of the vessel was clearly displayed – the only requirement of the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) convention. The names and registration of the vessel were also clearly marked on both sides of the vessel as requested by international laws.

Goujon also indicates that Sterenn is legally allowed to fish in Sierra Leone waters, as it has an official license from the country’s Ministry for Fisheries and Marine Resources. The vessel was fishing with its AIS functioning, which allowed the controller to indentify the ship before approaching it, and the crew provided full cooperation, he adds.

“We therefore consider that the qualification of ‘illegal fishing’ is completely inappropriate: a fisherman fishing illegally would surely not need to purchase a license, would neither have its AIS functioning nor cooperate with the control vessel to be easily boarded and would hide all its identification marks rather than one that is the least indicative as its origin.”

The vessel Sterenn was fined USD 51,000 and her catch of 320 tons of tuna, valued at around USD 650,000, was seized by officials.

This has been Sierra Leone’s eighth arrest of IUU fishing vessels since November 2011.