FFA members deter illegal fishing

Operation Tui Moana, a surveillance operation involving Cook Islands, Samoa and New Zealand, coordinated by the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) Regional Fisheries Surveillance Centre, concluded on Monday demonstrating determination by FFA members to deter illegal fishing by conducting regional MCS operations.
Over 10 days, the Cook Island Pacific patrol boat Te Kukupa with two NZ fisheries officers, supported by a P3K Orion surveillance aircraft provided by the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF), conducted surveillance and boarding operations in the EEZ’s of Samoa, Cook Islands and the surrounding high seas areas and the pocket adjacent to Cook Islands EEZ.
The patrol boat Te Kukupa from the Cook Islands, complemented the surveillance by a RNZAF P3C Orion surveillance aircraft provided by NZ to conduct patrols targeting Illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing vessels.
Over 30 fishing vessels were monitored in the operation area by the Joint Coordination Centre (JCC) located at the FFA regional headquarters. Although there were no boardings, the operation continues to send a message that vessels operating in the region are continually being monitored and any illegal activity will be quickly identified. During the operation which involved more than 60 personnel, 2 million sq kms of ocean were monitored and 11 foreign fishing vessels were reported to the JCC.
This effort was coordinated by the FFA Regional Fisheries Surveillance Centre, at the FFA regional headquarters in Honiara which collects fisheries information and data from all the regional countries. In addition to the FFA staff, the JCC was manned during the operation by a watch keeper provided by Cook Islands and an Air Liaison Officer provided by the US Navy based in Okinawa.Using satellite tracking of vessels and other data, the FFA Regional Fisheries Surveillance Centre produces interactive maps of the region which can show vessels that might be engaging in illegal fishing or have a previous history of illegal fishing. Using this analysis, the FFA Regional Fisheries Surveillance Centre is able to advise all countries participating in an operation, locations where illegal activities are likely and coordinate the efforts of Pacific Islands and regional defence forces of US, France, New Zealand and Australia to best respond. This increases the efficiency of surveillance operations and led to several successes such as Operation Kurukuru 2009 where 10 fishing vessels were boarded, 3 apprehended and fines in excess of USD1.4 were imposed, and the recent Operation Rai Balang which resulted in two apprehensions of foreign fishing vessels.
- FFA Media Release 09 June

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