Following on from Operation Albacore that saw Sea Shepherd partnering with the Gabonese authorities last year to inspect fishing vessels, resulting in the arrests of three Congolese trawlers and a Spanish longliner last summer, a second operation has already resulted in two Chinese-registered trawlers facing legal proceedings in Port Gentil.
Operation Albacore II had only been in operation for a week when Gabonese enforcement officers and the crew of Sea Shepherd’s Bob Barker identified five trawlers crossing illegally from Congolese to Gabonese waters with the fishing gear in the water. In the subsequent operation, armed Gabonese marines and enforcement officers boarded and arrested the 45m trawlers Haixin 23 and Haixin 28, while three others escaped back across the Congolese line.
Inspection of the two trawlers’ documentation showed that neither of them were licensed to fish Gabonese waters, and one did not have a licence for the Congolese EEZ either.
The two trawlers, manned by a mixed Chinese and Congolese crew, were escorted to Port Gentil to face legal proceedings
“The arrest of these two vessels at the start of this campaign shows the importance of governments and NGOs working together to secure the seas from poachers. We are immensely proud of our collaboration with Gabon which has resulted in this early victory for law and order,” said Sea Shepherd campaign leader Peter Hammarstedt.
In 2016 Sea Shepherd partnered with the government of Gabon for the first Operation Albacore, resulting in over forty fishing vessel inspections at sea and the arrest of three Congolese trawlers and one Spanish longliner. The second phase of Operation Albacore commenced in 2017 with the arrival of the Bob Barker in Gabon on the 5th of July.
The campaign aims to expand existing monitoring, control and surveillance measures, to detect and deter IUU fishing activity while also monitoring legal compliance by licensed fishing operators. Throughout the 2017 tuna fishing season, Marine Nationale and officers with the ANPA will be stationed on board the Bob Barker, working alongside Sea Shepherd crew to patrol Gabon's sovereign waters. Admiral Giuseppe de Giorgi, the former Chief of the Italian Navy, is also among Bob Barker’s crew, contributing his experience and skills to increase law enforcement capability in the region.
