It was two months back when the New Zealand Government blacklisted this Namibian fishing vessel, now the fishery officers found evidence the boat had been working with illegal fishing vessels in the Southern Ocean. It is said that the ship, Paloma V, had tried to unload toothfish in Auckland. The owner, Omunkete Fishing (PTY) Limited, took the Government to court to try to prevent New Zealand from reporting its activity to the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR).
The High Court has rejected the application and allows the Government to report the illegal activity, paving the way for CCAMLR to consider New Zealand’s recommendation the vessel be blacklisted. Thirty-four countries have signed the CCAMLR convention, and blacklisting would mean Paloma V would not be able to enter any ports in those nations.
It is reported that the Namibian government had revoked the licences of two Omunkete-owned ships, accused of poaching in international waters. Abraham Iyambo, Namibia’s minister of fisheries and marine resources, brief the press saying that both vessels would be investigated following complaints from New Zealand and Mozambique.
