High seas chase lasts 21 days
The Uruguayan-flagged Viarsa was allegedly poaching Patagonian toothfish, a gourmet delicacy, off Western Australia and a full cargo of the fish could be worth up to €3.25 million.
“We would hope, one way or the other, to bring this incident to a conclusion in the next 48 to 60 hours,” Australia’s Fisheries Minister Ian Macdonald said yesterday.
The Australians have been joined by a British vessel and a South African vessel. All three countries signed the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources.
All four boats are about 2,000 miles south-west of Cape Town, South Africa, but bad weather has prevented any boarding attempt so far.
The Patagonian toothfish (or Chilean sea bass) fetches up to €14 a pound while nearly 80% sold on the world market is illegally obtained.
If caught, poachers must forfeit their ship and catch, and be fined up to €200,000, under new Australian laws.
