A blacklisted fishing boat has been spotted in the Southern Ocean by an air force surveillance aircraft, Foreign Minister Murray McCully said today.
He said the Togo-flagged Bigaro was blacklisted for illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.
It was seen inside an international management area which was under the authority of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR).
Mr McCully said the owners of Bigaro, which was spotted by an air force Orion, were based in Spain.
"Spain is a CCAMLR member and is obliged to take action against the Spanish company," he said.
"Illegal toothfish fishing in the Southern Ocean is a scourge, destroying fish stocks and killing thousands of seabirds including albatrosses."
Mr McCully said another Spanish-owned fishing boat was caught and blacklisted by CCAMLR last month. Sierra Leone removed its flag.
CCAMLR is part of the Antarctic Treaty system and carries out surveillance of the Ross Sea and the Southern Ocean under a multi-agency operation.
New Zealand is the current chair of CCAMLR.
