The arrest of five vessels and more than 50 fishermen in the Indian Ocean in the past two weeks has kicked off further efforts to curb illegal fishing in the continent.

In an exercise headed by a South African team with sophisticated surveillance vessels and specialised inspectors from different countries, the team arrested two unlicensed vessels in South Africa, two in Mozambique and one vessel in Tanzania that were operating without valid fishing documents.

“We will double patrols in African waters with new vessels which are fitted with satellites, CCTV, VHF crafts and aircraft communication gadgets to ensure co-ordination,” said South Africa’s deputy director of Environmental Protection Keith Govender.

The team started off on February 28 with a view to control the illegal fishing in the continent, which has increased significantly in the past two years.

Speaking in Mombasa on a tour to Kenya, Mr Govender said the inspectors would move to different countries in the continent to ensure the exercise is controlled.

“We suspect information about the crackdown was leaked out in some of the countries,” said Mr Govender.

The officers promised to train Kenyan inspectors on new technologies to curb the exercise in the country.

Some government officials in Kenya, for instance are blaming the increase in cases of illegal fishing to inadequate funding.

Assistant Minister for Fisheries Development Abu Chiaba said three years since the launch of the project funded by the Food and Agricultural Organisation to fight illegal fishing, including trawling, there has been very little action on the ground.

“Some things have been taken casually but the truth is that even the increased cases of piracy in the sea stemmed from failing to act decisively to fight illegal fishing,” the minister said in an interview.

Mr Chiaba led a delegation from Kenya to Rome, Italy and signed an agreement with the Southern Indian Ocean Deepwater Fisher’s Association in 2006 to reduce trawling and illegal fishing within countries bordering the Indian Ocean. Australia, Comoros, European Community, France, Japan, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Namibia and Seychelles participated in the meeting

In the agreement, some international fishing companies announced voluntary closures of high-seas deep water trawling, to protect and conserve the bottom of the sea, which is a breeding ground for fish. Kenya banned trawling two years ago but there is now a move to lift the ban following an appeal by fishermen.

The Tanzania government has already brought 35 crew members of mv Tawariq 1, who three weeks ago were arrested for illegal fishing in the country’s territory deep see waters in Indian Ocean before Kisutu Resident Magistrate Court to answer charges of illegal fishing.

According to State Attorney Prosper Mwangamila, the court could not immediately arraign the crew for lack of Chinese and Indonesian interpreters but admitted the charge sheet against the crewmembers of the fishing boat. The arrested crew are from Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan and Kenya.

Before Senior Magistrate, Addy Lyamulya, the crew are facing three counts of fishing without licence, polluting and degradation of marine environment and conducting fishing activities illegally.

Mv Tawariq 1 was impounded 180 nautical miles from Dar es Salaam for illegal fishing.

Fifteen of the crew in the vessel intercepted by a South African patrol boat are Chinese, five Vietnamese, eight Philippines, three Kenyan and five Indonesians.

The police had earlier reported that another person from Mombasa, Hao Hanqing, who had presented himself to the police claiming to be an agent of the impounded ship, was joined with the sailors and would also be charged with the offences.

It was reported further that the task force formed to handle the fishing vessels said that the crew had over more than 180 tonnes of fish.

The Minister for Livestock Development and Fisheries, Mr John Magufuli, said a kilogramme of tuna in foreign markets fetched between $7,000 and $10,000 meaning the value of the 100 tonnees could be over $1 million.

The vessel, which had no flag of convenience, was brought to the Dar es Salaam port under heavy guard of a Tanzania People’s Defence Forces naval ship and a South African patrol vessel.