MOSCOW, December 18. /TASS/: Five Japanese vessels carrying over six tonnes of illegally poached octopus have been detained off Sakhalin Island in the North Pacific Ocean, the Russian Federal Security Service’s Border Service said on Wednesday.
The Japanese vessels, which were poaching near the Kuril Islands, were detained during the checks on December 17. "In order to establish all circumstances of violations and amid deteriorating weather conditions, the Japanese ships were escorted to the Yuzhno-Kurilsk maritime terminal," the statement said.
Earlier, HNK TV channel reported citing a source in the Japanese Foreign Ministry that the Russian border guards detained Japanese fishing boats on Tuesday. Some of them were owned by a company based in Nemuro, Hokkaido. According to the report, the border guards escorted the vessels for checks to one of the Southern Kuril Islands. The report gave no details on the number of the detained Japanese sailors.
Kyodo news agency reported citing Japan’s Fishery Agency that the detained vessels were catching octopus in accordance with a bilateral agreement.
In February, a Japanese fishing boat was also detained in the Sea of Japan. The Nisshin Maru-68 vessel, which was poaching crab, was taken to the port of Nakhodka. After the captain acknowledged violating the rules of fishing in Russia’s exclusive economic zone and paid a fine, the vessel was released.
