The commanding officer of the navy ship that was outlasted by three ageing fishing vessels in the Southern Ocean has responded to critics who labelled the operation a public relations disaster.
"Not only did we find three IUUs [illegal, unreported and unregulated vessels] operating in an area of Antarctica which is the size of Australia, we caught them in the act of fishing using the element of surprise and tenacious tactics to then exploit a whole heap of evidence which is now being analysed ... to bring these guys to justice."
Commander MacLean also gave more detail about how the poachers were caught. Once the fishing vessels were detected near the Ross Sea, the Wellington remained out of sight over the horizon and sent its smaller sea boats ahead. The boats hid behind icebergs and in the line of the sun to get closer to the fishing vessels undetected and take photographs and video footage of their illegal activities.
Read more (The New Zealand Herald - nzherald.co.nz) ...