A vessel carrying 14 million dollars of suspected illegal fish is due to arrive in the Korean port of Busan tonight (30 October).
The vessel, Dutch-flagged cargo vessel, Holland Klipper, is believed to have received an illegal transfer of fish from up to 20 Korean trawlers 95 miles off the coast of Guinea on 20 September.
The Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) is calling on Korean and Dutch Governments to act to prevent the fish from being sold.
EJF tracked the Korean-flagged Kum Woong 101 fishing illegally in Sierra Leone’s Inshore Exclusion Zone (IEZ) before it travelled to Guinea, where it transferred its illegal catch to the Dutch-flagged vessel.
After discovering the illegal fishing activity, EJF transmitted an IUU Alert to the European Commission, as well as the Dutch and Korean Governments. The European Commission is believed to have launched its own alert, and the Dutch and Korean Governments confirmed to EJF that they were investigating the case, but so far it is unclear what action has been taken.
In a statement to the BBC, the owner and manager of the Holland Klipper, Green Sea, has claimed that the transhipment was authorised and the company has clauses in its contracts protecting it from liability. In a statement, the company pointed to a ‘BIMCO’ clause in its chartering agreements, which would mean that the charterer of the vessel takes responsibility for any illegal fishing activity. However, BIMCO denies creating or approving this clause.
EJF executive director, Steve Trent, said, “If this illegal fish is allowed to enter the Korean seafood market, a strong signal will be sent to pirate fishing operators that they can pursue their activities unhindered and continue to profit from the degradation of the marine environment, the depletion of fish stocks and the destruction of the livelihoods of coastal communities.”
