Japanese Boats In 12-Mile Limit

Press, Volume CV, Issue 30998, 2 March 1966, Page 18

Japanese Boats In 12-Mile Limit

(Xew Zealand Press Association)

AUCKLAND, March 1.

At least 10 Japanese dories and a mother ship were sighted within the 12-mile limit between Little and Great Barrier Islands this morning.

The original sighting was made by the trawler San Rosa at 7.45 a.m. which reported to the Auckland trawler base the presence of three dories and the mother ship in the area.

At 10 a.m. a Tourist Air Trave] amphibian, with a photographer and reporter aboard flew over the mother ship, wallowing in a slight swell approximately half-way between the Barrier Islands.

Painted white with yellow decking, the Nanayo Maru, from Atsukeshi, had alongside a dory from which a heavy load of fish was being unloaded. Another three dories were making back to the larger boat.

Only about 16ft long, the dories each had three men who waved cheerfully at the plane.

What looked like a very

successful catch was heaped inside the boats. Closer still to Great Barrier were three more dories and further out at sea were at least two others. A Sunderland aircraft from the Royal New Zealand Air Force was also in the area obviously making careful observations on the boats’ locality and numbers. A spokesman for the Navy said this afternoon that the mother ship may have been outside of the three-mile limit, which was the limit the Japanese chose to recognise, but that it would have been well within the recently introduced 12-mile limit, and therefore in New Zealand territorial waters.

On receiving the report of the San Rosa, the Auckland trawler base notified the Inspector of Fisheries (Mr F. French) who in turn notified

the naval base at Auckland and the Naval Office in Wellington. The naval fisheries protection ship, Manga, which had been aware of the presence of the Japanese boats outside the 12-mile limit for several days, was dispatched from operations in the Whangaroa area and was due to arrive late today. Mr 1. Hopper, of Whangaparaoa, whose launch is entered in the international deep sea fishing competition, has been in radio contact with several of the other boats entered, which, he said had ventured under the bows of the mother ship. He said the skipper of the Quo Vadis had told him of “an unbelievable amount” of fish being taken on board from the dories.

No comment was made by a Naval spokesman today when asked whether an arrest could be made without authorisation from Wellington.

The findings of the Manga were expected to be relayed to Wellington tonight. Auckland fishermen are angered by the repeated Japanese intrusions and are impatient for some Government action to be taken.