RNZN Te Kaha assists Ministry of Fisheries

6 December 2003

The Royal New Zealand Navy frigate Te Kaha yesterday assisted the Ministry of Fisheries in carrying out a routine inspection in the Tasman Sea of the Ukrainian-flagged Fishing Vessel Simeiz.

The inspection was carried out in accordance with New Zealand's fisheries legislation. The FV Simeiz had entered New Zealand's Exclusive Economic Zone, and was believed to be en route to the Ross Sea to fish for Antarctic toothfish.

Fishing in the Ross Sea and Southern Ocean is managed by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Living Resources (CCAMLR), of which New Zealand and the Ukraine are members.