Dear Ed

Interesting news release from the National News Bureau of Thailand.

The eyes of the world are on Thailand now. Results are what really count.

It would also help Thailand's public relations campaign tremendously if the Royal Thai Navy dropped its charges against you and Khun Chutima unconditionally. This could be done with little more than the stroke of a proverbial pen.

Posted by Ian Yarwood on May 2, 2015 13:17

All pelagic longline vessels that fish in the Andaman Sea (Thai Waters), Indonesian, Malaysian, Indian & International Waters should all be flagged/registered in a particular country. They all should have "Indian Ocean Tuna Commission" (IOTC) Permits as well.
Every day whilst these vessels are fishing the Fishing Master should be completing a Log Book that records such information as position of start of gear set, position of end of gear set, catch records such as fish species & estimated weight of each fish, landed & disgarded. This information should tally up with the catch unloaded (reported catch).
These vessels are also required to have a VMS (Vessel Monitoring System) fitted & operating 24 hours per day whilst not in port. These VMS devices transmit Vessel Identification & Position & from this data it should tally up with the Fishing Log Book information that legally must be completed on a daily basis, submitted &/or viewed by a Fisheries Officer 24 hrs day, 7 days a week.
Thrane & Thrane VMS.

Yes, this is how the Pelagic Longline Fishery is managed on a worldwide basis. Somebody doesn't want to tow the line though.

The Port In, Port Out System will not solve anything.

Posted by Anonymous on May 2, 2015 20:32

International fisheries obligations given legal effect
Last updated 12 May 2015
International fisheries obligations have come into effect following acceptance of the Fisheries Management (International Agreements) Regulations 2009 (the Regulations) by the Governor-General at the meeting of the Executive Council on 16 April 2015.

The regulations implement Australia's obligations as a member of the following international fisheries management organisations (IFMOs):

the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR)
the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC)
the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC)
the Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT)
the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation (SPRFMO)
the South Indian Ocean Fisheries Agreement (SIOFA).
The IFMOs meet each year to review current management practices, and to adopt conservation and management measures, or to revise existing measures, aimed at ensuring the sustainable fishing of migratory and shared fish stocks. Countries that are members of IFMOs, and the operators of their fishing boats, must comply with the measures. The updated regulations reflect any updated requirements of these measures such as:

clarifying reporting requirements and area restrictions that apply when fishing or conducting research in the CCAMLR Area
incorporating WCPFC requirements to ensure that bigeye, yellowfin and skipjack tuna stocks are maintained at sustainable levels
requiring cetaceans, whale sharks and other shark species that are caught in the IOTC area to be released unharmed, to the extent possible and reported
implementing a CCSBT Catch Documentation Scheme that requires a person to tag southern bluefin tuna and provide a catch tagging form to the flag state
prohibiting vessels operating in the SPRFMO Area from using deep-water gillnets or fishing with bottom gear outside their bottom fishing footprint.
The regulations impose no additional requirements on operators who are authorised to fish under a Commonwealth fishing concession but enable AFMA to prosecute, in certain circumstances:

the operator of an Australian boat for fishing in the waters of a foreign country
the operator of an Australian boat for fishing for a fish stock covered by an IFMO when it is not authorised by AFMA to do so
an Australian national who uses a foreign boat to fish in breach of a prescribed measure
the operator of a foreign boat on the high seas for fishing in breach of a prescribed measure.
The Regulations can be accessed on the Comlaw website at comlaw.

Regional cooperation leaves organised crime & tree hugging Greenpeace high and dry.

Joint media release
The Hon Peter Dutton MP, Minister for Immigration and Border Protection and Senator the Hon Richard Colbeck, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Agriculture

15 May 2015
The Australian Government has welcomed news that the illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing vessel Perlon has been detained by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA).

This latest detention brings the total number of IUU fishing vessels detained in Asian ports to three, following the recent detentions of the Viking and the Kunlun.

Minister for Immigration and Border Protection Peter Dutton said the detention of the Perlon on May 9 occurred following enforcement action by the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service (ACBPS) who boarded the vessel last month to determine its flag state.

The Perlon was caught in the south-east of the Malaysian peninsula offloading approximately 300 tonnes of toothfish (claimed to be groper) to a barge for transport to shore. All vessels involved in the offload, including the tug, the barge, and several containers were detained.

Following a request from Australia to establish the vessel's identity, on 11 May Nigeria confirmed that the FV Perlon has not been flagged to Nigeria since 2011.

Mr Dutton said information gathered by ACBPS officers on board the Kunlun and Perlon had been instrumental in the detention of these vessels.

''The exploitation of natural resources in the Southern Ocean is big business for transnational organised crime networks,'' Mr Dutton said.

''Under this Government, transnational organised crime has nowhere to hide and no ports of safe haven. As this latest action shows, we are getting results.''

Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Agriculture Senator Richard Colbeck said Australia continues to work closely with international partners through the Regional Plan of Action and with INTERPOL to combat illegal fishing.

''Officers from the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) used their extensive networks to alert south east Asian countries of the possible arrival of this vessel into their ports, resulting in the detention of the Perlon,'' Senator Colbeck said.

''Officers from AFMA are now in Malaysia following a request from Malaysian authorities to assist in the investigation of the catch and documents found on the Perlon.

''This sharing of expertise continues to increase the capacity of our regional partners to shut down opportunities for illegal fishing operators.''

This Government remains committed to combatting IUU fishing, which undermines the sustainability of marine resources and threatens food security and the economic, social and political stability of states which rely on sustainable fisheries for their source of revenue.

The international community continues to work together to counter the actions of these criminals by closing port access to markets, de-flagging vessels and investigating the actions of their nationals.

ENDS
Have a nice day.

Posted by Anonymous on May 16, 2015 07:33