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Hearn praises Russian Federation for action against ship
JAMIE BAKER
Transcontinental Media
ST. JOHN’S — This country’s fisheries minister is throwing a bit of a bouquet to seemingly the unlikeliest of nations — the Russian Federation.
Despite a less-than-perfect past when it comes to fishing infractions outside Canada’s 200-mile limit, the Russians are being praised for actions they recently took against one of their own offending ships.
The Novaya Zemlaya was cited by Canadian inspectors with the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) on May 5, 2007 for failing to maintain an active stowage plan.
Although the infraction was considered minor, Federal Fisheries Minister Loyola Hearn said he has been informed the Russians have taken things further.
“The Russian Federation imposed financial penalties on the owner of the vessel and prohibited the vessel from undertaking fishing activities in the NAFO area that had been planned for August to December 2007,” Hearn said in a written statement.
“The master of the vessel and most of the crew were also replaced as a result of the incident.”
Although he gave kudos to the Russians, Hearn was as hearty in his praise for the Canadian effort in the Novaya Zemlaya case.
“The determination and perseverance of Canadian inspectors must be recognized in this particular incident, as they not only conducted the at-sea inspection, they also followed the lengthy in-port inspection process through to completion.”
Despite recent developments, the Russians have a had a checkered history in dealing with NAFO rules and inspectors.
The Novaya Zemlaya was one of three Russian ships busted last year.
The Karacharovo was cited July 31 for failing to maintain a certified capacity plan, while the Kolomenskoye was cited July 29 for failing to maintain a certified capacity plan and for a “possible mesh obstruction.”
Perhaps the most well-known Russian run-in with NAFO in recent history was May 19, 2005, when the Odoevsk was nabbed for using an illegal net liner.
The net had been cut free by the ship’s crew, but was later retrieved from the sea bottom by the Canadian Coast Guard vessel Teleost.
The Odoevsk was recalled to port and had its licence suspended for a year.
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Source:
TheWesternStar.com
Jan. 8, 2008
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