Two South Korean vessels violate zone

Press, 7 November 1978, Page 2

Two South Korean vessels violate zone

Wellington reporter 1 Two significant in- i frinsements by South Ko- j rean vessels of New Zea- i land’s 200-mile zone have ■ occurred since its inception i earlier this year, according < to the Ministry of Agricul- 1 ture and Fisheries. An unlicensed Korean bot- < tom-ltner was reported fish- I ing on the Chathams Rise in I April. The vessel disobeyed i an order to berth and in- t stead returned home, so an t official complaint was lodged with the authorities ’ in South Korea. !.<

By way of penalty, a; licensee vessel belonging to I the same company had its permit suspended for a month, and the offending vessel’s captain '/as stripped or all his marine qualifications by the South Korean authorities. The other incident occurred in June, when a South Korean trawler failed to ooey an order from a patrol vessel to stop. Its licence was suspended for two months. Pc> ching by unlicensed vessels was most unlikely, said Commander E. Eidy, of

lithe Ministry of Defence. Un-j 'licensed vessels on the! ,1 fringe of the zone would at-1 i tract attention, and their ac-l ; tions would be easy to I monitor closely. The conditions of foreign! i' fishing vessel access around) New Zealand are among the) ■ toughest in the world,] i according to the head of the] I Legal Division of the Minis-) try of Foreign Affairs (Mr ‘ IW. Mansfield). Terms of agreement had' ( been modified from Norwe-j Igian and Canadian models,) ■he said.