The Argentine navy seized a Taiwanese trawler on Saturday after firing warning shots as it tried to flee when caught fishing illegally for squid, according to Argentinian President Fernando de la Rua and navy officials.
"Our navy captured a foreign vessel fishing within our territorial waters and piloted that vessel to port, notifying it that we will defend our marine stocks," de la Rua told a news conference.
A navy statement said a helicopter based on the corvette Spiro flew out to the Taiwanese vessel Hou Chun 101 after it was found fishing 5km inside Argentina's 330km economic zone late Friday night.
The Spiro radioed a warning that the trawler was contravening a UN fishing treaty, the statement said. The Taiwanese ship stopped fishing and headed for international waters without responding to the radio message.
"The reckless and irresponsible attitude of the captain of the Hou Chun 101 put his crew at risk and was clear evidence of his acknowledgment of illegal fishing," the Argentine navy said.
It said the Spiro chased the trawler for 12 hours and the Taiwanese vessel stopped only when warning shots were fired.
Argentine sailors boarded the trawler and it was escorted to an Argentine port, the statement said.
Squid season opened on Tuesday in Argentina's South Atlantic territorial waters amid protests by the domestic fishing industry that foreign vessels were flaunting Argentine sovereignty and catch quotas.
All marine stocks along Argentina's South Atlantic coast are under pressure because of lax rules, poor enforcement and fishermen trawling for a number of dwindling species, industry officials have said.
The Kaohsiung Coastal Radio Station (高雄漁業岸上電台) yesterday claimed that a fishing agreement exists between Taiwan and Argentina, and said a large number of Taiwanese boats fish in Argentine waters each year during peak season without incident.
Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Antonio Berhongaray said the Hou Chun 101 would serve as an example of the two-month-old center-left Alliance government's determination to "protect Argentina's natural resources."
The over-fished hake, a cod-like species, makes up about half Argentina's US$1 billion-a-year fish export industry, followed by squid, mackerel, crayfish, salmon and other species.
The main export markets are Spain, Japan, Brazil, Italy and the US.
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