A Latvian fishing vessel became subject to arrest for illegal catches of snow crab (snøkrabbe) in the Svalbard zone (Svalbardsonen).
The vessel was taken to shore by the Coast Guard vessel, ‘Svalbard’ on Monday, said the sea fishing fleet organization, Fiskebåt.
‘Currently, it is undecided where the boat will be impounded on shore. There is bad weather in the area, so we’ll just have to decide eventually’, said Erling Øksenvåg, head of resource control for the Coast Guard.
Foreign vessels are not allowed to catch snøkrabbe in the Svalbard zone or on the Norwegian Continental Shelf in international waters.
Last year also saw a Baltic vessel caught breaking the moratorium.
Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today