NZ intercepts pirate tooth-fish long-liner “Carmela” in the Ross Sea

A Togolese-flagged vessel Carmela was apprehended Wednesday catching toothfish in the Ross Sea, an area managed by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR).

Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing puts the sustainability of the profitable toothfish fishery in jeopardy.

The fishing vessel Carmela was utilising deep sea gillnets – which are banned in the CCAMLR Convention Area and can have deleterious effects on non-target marine animals and the ecosystem through ghost fishing by lost or discarded nets.

Carmela is believed to be the former Gold Dragon, a vessel included on CCAMLR's IUU vessel blacklist. New Zealand reported the interception to CCAMLR such that other Commission Members do not allow the vessel to use their ports or allow the import of fish caught by the vessel.

http://en.mercopress.com/2009/12/20/nz-intercepts-pirate-tooth-fish-long-liner-carmela-in-the-ross-sea