Big Fines For Patagonian Toothfish Pirates

[mrmoshe]

Big fines for Patagonian toothfish pirates

Heavy penalties handed out to illegal Patagonian toothfish operators in the United States have sent a strong message to poachers in the Southern Ocean, Australia says.

A Florida court yesterday found Antonio Vidal Pego, a Spanish national, and Fadilur SA, a Uruguayan company, guilty on charges of attempting to illegally import and sell Patagonian toothfish.

Both were fined hundreds of thousands of dollars and placed on probation.

The toothfish thrives in the deep waters of the Southern Ocean, with fish pirates regularly plundering Australia's territorial waters around Heard and McDonald islands.

Environment Minister Ian Campbell said the convictions followed an international hunt that involved law enforcement officers of several countries, including Australia, to bring to justice the main players involved in the illegal toothfish trade.

He welcomed the tough penalties.

Pego was fined $400,000, placed on probation for four years and required to cease all involvement in the toothfish industry, direct or indirect.

Fadilur SA was fined fined $100,000, placed on probation for a period of four years and ordered to cease all corporate activities and dissolve as a business entity within 45 days of the judgment being handed down.

"By handing down a guilty verdict a Florida court has sent the clear message that the international community will not tolerate the pillaging of our oceans and will take strong action to prevent illegal fishing," Senator Campbell said in a statement.

"Illegal fishing is a serious threat to the conservation of the Southern Ocean ecosystem. It degrades fish stocks and long lines take an enormous death toll on albatross and other endangered seabirds."

He said Pego and Fadilur, in May 2004, tried to import about 25 tonnes of toothfish from Singapore into Miami, for sale in the United States.

The fish were taken and transported in violation of the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources.