CAPE TOWN, May 23 (Reuters) – South Africa’s navy has detained three Chinese ships with round 100 crew on board on suspicion of unlawful squid fishing, officers mentioned on Monday.

The ships had been noticed on Friday having entered South Africa’s 200 nautical mile financial exclusion zone with out permits. When South African officers requested the ships to sail to port they tried to flee however had been ultimately captured.

“We cannot tolerate the plundering of our marine resources, which are a source of food security,” Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Senzeni Zokwana mentioned in a press release.

“We are also looking into the sudden influx of these vessels in our waters.”

The three vessels – Fu Yuan Yu 7880, Fu Yang Yu 7881 and Run Da 617 – had a mixed complete of just about 600 tonnes of squid when the navy escorted them to shore. Inspectors discovered all three ships had no permits to fish regionally.

Crew members have been detained on the ships. Captains face fines and attainable jail sentences if discovered responsible.

Globally, unlawful fishing prices the trade round $23 billion every year, with one in 4 fish regarded as caught illegally in African waters.

In October, a Sao Tome and Principe courtroom gained a key victory in opposition to unlawful fishing by organised syndicates when it convicted the captain of a vessel and two crew members on plenty of fees, Interpol official mentioned. (Reporting by Wendell Roelf; Editing by Joe Brock)

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