PORT ELIZABETH - ILLEGAL FISHING VESSELS SPOTTED AROUND CAPE RECIFE, PORT ST JOHNS & DURBAN

The fisheries department has boarded a suspected illegal fishing vessel and is bringing it to Cape Town harbour where it is expected to berth on Saturday.

Earlier this week, the agriculture, forestry, and fisheries department spotted nine vessels suspected to be fishing illegally in South African waters, the department said in a statement.

The vessels were spotted around Durban, Port St Johns, and Cape Recife near Port Elizabeth. Upon monitoring the vessels, their activity seemed suspicious and the fisheries patrol vessel Victoria Mxenge was sent to search for them.

The vessels were discovered on Thursday. They co-operated and agreed to be escorted to the Port of Saldanha for proper inspection. However, during the night these vessels started dispersing in different directions.

“This made it harder for our vessel to give chase. Our vessel kept trail of one of the [fishing] vessels and captured and boarded it, escorting it to the Port of Cape Town,” the department said.

Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula had instructed the South African Navy to assist with the chase of the vessels. The Western Cape police were also assisting with the operation.

The Western Cape Joint Operations Command Centre (JOC) had been activated to bring all the law enforcement stakeholders to deal with the situation and had already put in place an operational plan to inspect the vessel upon its arrival at the Cape Town harbour.

“We urge all South Africans to notify the department should they spot suspicious vessels at sea. Please contact the department’s vessel monitoring operations room on 021-402-3077/ 3076,” the department said.

African News Agency (ANA)