To ensure sustainable high-seas fishing in the Pacific region, the New Zealand Defence Force recently inspected 23 foreign-flagged fishing vessels as part of a joint maritime patrol operation with Australia, France, and the United States.

The fishing vessels were inspected on the seas surrounding New Zealand’s northern Exclusive Economic Zone boundaries.

Major General Tim Gall, the Commander Joint Forces New Zealand, said the member-countries of the Quadrilateral Defence Coordination Group (QUAD) – Australia, France, and the United States, were part of the maritime surveillance operation, supported by offshore patrol vessel HMNZS Otago and a Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3K2 Orion aircraft.

“The four countries working together on this monitoring, control and surveillance operation reflect the regional solidarity to sustainable high-seas fishing,” said Major General Gall.

Lieutenant Commander Lorna Gray, the Commanding Officer of Otago, said an inter-agency team that included authorised inspectors from New Zealand’s Ministry for Primary Industries and the United States Coast Guard inspected the vessels.

“This year’s operation was an opportunity to further develop information sharing and provide a coordinated approach to high-seas boarding and inspections with our QUAD partners.”

She said it was a big boost to have a United States Coast Guard authorised inspector who could speak five languages on board, which maximized the use of Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) trained inspectors and enhanced the effectiveness of the WCPFC boarding and inspection procedures.

New Zealand’s Ministry for Primary Industries, Manager for Fisheries Compliance Greg Keys said the key objective of the operation was to better understand fishing practices and ensure compliance with the Convention on the Conservation and Management of the Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean and the conservation and management measures adopted by the WCPFC.