| O P E R AT I O N S
Air Force Key Player in South Pacific Tuna Fishing Operation
New Zealand has taken an active role in a recent international fisheries surveillance operation to ensure the tuna fishing fleet in the South Pacific Ocean is following fishery laws during Covid-19 when ports are closed.
T
he operation included backing from Australia, France and the United States.
The air and sea missions were coordinated by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) in conjunction with the New Zealand Defence Force, the Australian Fisheries Management Agency, along with New Caledonian Armed Forces, and the US Coast Guard. Fishing vessels were not boarded because of safety reasons due to the Covid-19 threat. They were instead observed remotely with visual surveillance data analysed and provided to relevant authorities. Its key objective was to identify tuna fishers not complying with the agreement of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission and its legally binding rules.
LEFT
P-3K2 Orion RIGHT
Imagery of fishing vessels in the area is captured during maritime surveillance patrols
10 | AIR FORCE NEWS #229
