The French Navy has escorted the fishing boat, previously called the Salvora and now renamed the Castor, to the Indian Ocean island of Reunion where the vessel's representatives will appear before a French court tomorrow. The Castor's fishing master is a repeat offender. With this being the third time they've been caught out in four years, the owners of the Castor clearly believe that they can fish on with impunity. As a member of the international organisation charged with conserving toothfish, the European Union must demand that Spain act responsibly and bring pirate fishing by Spanish interests to an end.
Pirate fishing is rife in the Southern Ocean around Antarctica.
Most fishing boats arrested for fishing illegally in recent years have involved Spanish nationals. The United Nations General Assembly has adopted a series of resolutions calling on countries to exercise control over the activities of fishing vessels flying their flag. In just a few years, the toothfish stocks around Prince Edward Island and Marion Islands were fished close to commercial extinction. An estimated 330,000 seabirds, including endangered species of albatross, have been caught and killed as bycatch in four years by pirate fishing vessels. The Mauritius Supreme Court upheld a decision by the government to deny the vessel permission to land its catch on that occasion.