Five of the crew of the South Korean charter fishing vessel Oyang 75 were found guilty of fishing offences last week and the Ministry for Primary Industry has seized another Oyang ship, the Oyang 77 berthed at Lyttelton, and charged its captain and factory manager with illegal dumping and misreporting the vessel's catch. (1) How are these South Korean ships connected to the New Zealand fishing industry?
Southern Storm Fishing Ltd chartered the Oyang 75 and the Oyang 70 that sank in 2010 off Otago with the deaths of six crew members. The five Oyang 75 crew members were convicted for and face fines of up to $250,000 after throwing 405 tonnes of low-value fish, still worth as much as $1.4-million, overboard and not reporting it.
