The Worlds Largest fishing vessel, factory Freezer "Lafayette" has turned up in the waters east of Australia targeting yellowtail.....(jack mackerel)

[HUNTRESS]

The world's largest fishing vessel, the factory freezer ship Lafayette, has turned up in Pacific waters east of Australia.

The controversial 49,000-tonne Lafayette, and six attendant trawlers, registered on satellite-tracking systems north-east of Norfolk Island on Friday, Greenpeace said.

The Russian-flagged and Chinese-owned vessel is five times the size of the Dutch factory trawler Margiris, which was banned from Australian waters in 2012.

''It should be very worrying to the region that a vessel of the size of Lafayette would target fish in the South Pacific,'' Greenpeace campaigner Nathaniel Pelle said.

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''The waters where it is now face a crisis of overcapacity. A vast number of vessels are making their way into the Pacific chasing reduced fish numbers.''

Lafayette's appearance left regional fisheries organisations scrambling to find out what would likely disappear into its blast freezers. Pacific Andes said it was headed for the jack mackerel fishery.

''It is not taking on board fish in Australian waters,'' a Pacific Andes spokesman in Hong Kong said.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/national/worlds-largest-floating-fish-factory-in-pacific-waters-20140216-32tv0.html#ixzz2tXrcPPRA

[Paikea]

I hope that the government has the guts to ensure that this vacuum cleaner of fish stays well outside our territorial boundaries.

Does anyone know if we have any patrol boats operating around the East and West coast? Or are they all tied up with stopping the boat people?

Also, if they are currently outside our waters whose territory are they in? The smaller Pacific nations have no chance of stopping the pillage of their seas so who will take up their cause?

Makes you admire Greenpeace.

Cheers

Paikea

[plankton]

Why do they want to pillage millions of Yakkas. I'd like to creep in at night and take it's bungs out.

Edited February 17, 2014 by plankton

[Basil D]

Last few i remember seen a lot of bait fish around and this not much at all. Has anyone experienced that at all.