Indonesia Blows Up Last Big Pirate Toothfish Ship "Viking" After Navy Seizure

[hatrack]

PANGANDARAN, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian authorities on Monday bombed the last major ship internationally wanted for years of illegally taking toothfish from southern waters, reiterating a strong message to would-be poachers who enter the country's waters. The navy seized the Nigeria-flagged Viking on Feb. 25 operating in waters off Tanjung Berakit in Riau Islands province south of Singapore. It was one of the half dozen ships dubbed the "Bandit 6" by the nonprofit Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, which hunted the boats and was among those who alerted Indonesian officials when the Viking entered the country's waters.

"This is to serve as a deterrent to others," Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti told reporters. She posed on the beach with a group of navy officials, their fists raised in the air with the smoking boat behind them. "You may go freely in the rest of the world, but once entering Indonesia, this is the consequence."

EDIT

The Viking was the last in operation of the "Bandit 6" known to be illegally catching toothfish in the Southern Ocean. Patagonian toothfish, also known as Chilean sea bass, is popularly served in the United States, and fishing stocks are now better managed after years of plundering. However, U.S.-based Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch recommends avoiding eating the fish unless it comes from certain areas. The Viking's Chilean captain and crew members have been detained in Indonesia. Interpol went after the ship in 2013 following a complaint from Norwegian authorities about illegal fishing in that country's waters.

"This is just a first step," said Stig Traavik, Norway ambassador to Indonesia who witnessed the bombing. "In the future, it will be much more difficult to do illegal fishing, and the fish catch for local fishermen will go up." Huge plumes of smoke and flames engulfed the Viking after the explosives were detonated. Part of the ship will be set up as a monument to mark the country's fight against illegal fishing.

EDIT

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/0d39a2f2466f4a66bf7dc33488cea4d5/indonesia-bombs-illegal-toothfish-ship-sought-interpol

[dhill926]

1. good...

[eppur_se_muova]

2. I wish more people realized where those "gourmet" fish in upscale restaurants come from ...

Satisfying the demand for these fish has led the invisible bloody hand of the free market to reward poachers and pirates who "strip-mine" these fish stocks to the edge of extinction. Some book recs for background:

In addition to "End of the Line", I recommend Richard Ellis's "The Empty Ocean", Carl Safina's "Voyage of the Turtle" {for swordfish} and G Bruce Knecht's "Hooked: Pirates, Poaching, and the Perfect Fish"; the latter two describe in some detail the disastrous impact of commercial longline fishing. (The "perfect" fish is Patagonian toothfish, marketed under the sexier name of "Chilean Sea Bass", and nearly fished to commercial extinction.)

see also http://journals.democraticunderground.com/eppur_se_muova/62