DRAFT IUU VESSEL LIST FOR Circulated to CCMs by July , in accordance with paragraph 6 of CMM

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1 DRAFT IUU VESSEL LIST FOR 2016 Circulated to CCMs by July , in accordance with paragraph 6 of CMM SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION ATTACHMENT 1: CASE 2015_A: Letter from WCPFC Executive Director to Wallis and Futuna, sent by WCPFC on 26 June 2015 (acknowledgement of receipt received 22 July 2015) 4

2 25 June20l5 Mr Michel Aubouin Mr le Pr6fet, Administratew Sup6rieur de Wallis et Futuna Admini stration Sup6rieur BP 16 _ MATA'UTU UVEA - WALLIS anaise. soula@wallis-et-futuna.pref. gouv. fr Dear Mr Aubouin, Please find attached the draft IUU list nomination and supporting evidence the Commission has received from Fiji in accordance with CMM This has been forwarded to you at the request of Fiji, and in accordance with paragraph 5 of CMM If you could kindly acknowledge receipt of this notification. Yours sincerely, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR cc: Petelo Hanisi, President of Territorial Assernbly of Wallis and Futuna Assembl6e territoriale de Wallis et Futuna nadtrty. secretariatat@ gmail. com Mr. Esala Nayasi, Acting Permanent Secretary Fiji Ministry of Foreign Affairs & lnternational Cooperation esala.nayasi@ gmail.com; esala.nayasi@foreieraffairs. gov. fi Mr. Inia Seruiratu, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries & Forest, Provincial Development and National Disaster Management, Fiji j otivini.rokobiti@agriculture. eov. fi Mr. Inoke Wainiqolo, Permanent Secretary Fiji Ministry for Fisheries and Forests Dr Lar a Manarangi-Trott, WCPFC Compliance Manager 5

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4 OFFSHORE FISHERIES DIVISION INVESTIGATION REPORT VESSEL NAME: FAI MANU V FLAG: WALLIS AND FUTUNA IRCS: FNCX VESSEL TYPE: LONGLINE 7 1

5 SUSPECTED OFFENSE Offshore Fisheries Management Regulation: Reg 39 (3) Vessel reporting requirements CMM : VMS non reporting CMM : Conservation Management Measure for Oceanic White Tip CMM : Marking and identification of Fishing vessels CMM : Record of fishing vessel and authorisation to Fish STATEMENT OF OFFENCE Fai Manu 5 (WF85) while entering Fiji waters the vessel failed to notify port state prior to its arrival into Fiji Port, had a broken antenna which may indicated non polling of MTU and had shark fins on board believed to be Oceanic White Tip. INVESTIGATING OFFICER(S) Meli Raicebe Ropate Natadra INVESTIGATION OUTCOME INVESTIGATION SUMMARY On the 7 th of July, 2014 the team was notified by the boarding team of an possible infringement by a fishing vessel- Fai Manu V. The vessel was reported to have entered the Suva port without proper authorisation or clearance by the port controllers. While boarded the officers noted the following; All documents were in French VMS antenna broken No fish on board except for 13 pairs of shark fin. Following the information the team received, additional investigation was then done with the following outcomes; FINDINGS 1 Vessel details: The team first began by trying to ascertain the vessel flag. This was done by first checking the Commission RFV. Even though there were no records of the vessel in the Commission RFV, the team was able to identify a vessel with a similar name which was registered under French Polynesia- Fai Manu 6. The team then contacted the WCPFC Secretariat in regards to the identity of the vessel. Through the Secretariat, the team was able to contact French Polynesia who then indicated that the vessel flagged under Wallis and Futuna. The following information were collected; 2 8

6 Name : F/V «FAI MANU 5» Vessel type: Longline Port and number of registration : MATA-UTU I: WF 85 Call Sign : FNCX MMSI : Length overall : 22,02m Owner: SARL FENUA IKA 2 Entry Notification- Fail Through a French Embassy translator, the boarding team conducted a post boarding interview on the Captain. During the interview, the Captain had stated that the vessel had initially contacted an agent prior to entering the Suva port. However no confirmation was received back from the agents. The Captain went on to say that during the vessels previous visit, Carpenters Shipping Agency was contacted as their agent, however due to unfavourable working relations, the company severed ties with the agent. On the 4 th of July, when entering the Suva Habour, the vessel (Fai Manu 5) was declined entry by the port master due to the fact that the vessel had failed to notify Fiji on its entry. The vessel later through the French Embassy secured Pacific Ship Boarding Agency as the vessels agents. The vessel master indicated that the vessel had entered due to mechanical problems. 3 VMS- Antenna damage Figure 1: Broken antenna of the MTU unit 9 3

7 3.1 Surveillance Unit- Fiji To address the issues in regards to damaged VMS antenna, the team first contacted the surveillance Unit to identify if the vessel MTU (Monitoring Transceiver Unit) had polled while in Fiji Waters. The Surveillance Unit indicated that that Fiji s system could not pick up any poll of the vessel possibly due to the following reasons; 3.2 FFA Comments 1. Vessel not under the FFA register 2. Fiji needs to request the WCPFC to allow us access via flick the switch. Contacts were made to the FFA Surveillance Center which indicated that the vessel was not on the FFA vessel register and should be a direct WCPFC reporting vessel. Since FFA could not see the vessel under the FFA system, the surveillance officials could not confirm if the vessel had been polling. It was also indicated that the vessel was not visible under the AIS system. 3.3 WCPFC Comments Through , the Commission was notified of the incident. The Secretariat indicated that the vessel could not be viewed under the current Commission system due to the fact that the flag state had yet to submit the VTAF form which would allow the Secretariat to view it VMS polls. The Secretariat also indicated that the vessel was not registered under the WCPFC record of fishing vessel The Secretariat however advised the team to contact that previous flag state (French Polynesia). Which the team eventually did with the following response; 3.4 French Polynesia The team contacted French Polynesia using the following ; 1. jiac-ifc@mail.pf, mrccpapeete.directeur@mail.pf, mrccpapeete.adjoint@mail.pf received from French Polynesia indicated that the said vessel had been sold a few years ago in Tahiti and was now flagged in Wallis and Futuna. The breakdown of the vessel details collected has been reflected on page 2 of the report- heading Vessel Details. French Polynesia also sent us a picture taken of the vessel which was compared to the vessel that had entered the Suva port. The findings confirmed that the vessel was the same. Figure 2: Picture of the vessel sent in by the French Polynesia contacts 10 4

8 4. Boarding party discussion Apart from the findings indicated above, an initial discussion of the vessel was conducted with the boarding party. The team had indicated that all documents were in French. Missing from the vessel was the catch log. It was also noted that no other fish was on board except for 12 pairs of shark fins believed to be Oceanic white tip. Additionally, it was also identified that there were no authorisations on the vessel to fish outside Wallis and Futuna. 5. Physical Inspection From the information gathered, the team then conducted a physical inspection of the vessel with the presence of the vessel captain. The team managed to identify the following; 5.1 Vessel Captain The vessel captain carried and Wallis and Futuna passport and went by the name Tomasi Taofufenua. The captain was of medium built, fair completion with long curly hair. (attachment 1) 5.2 Vessel markings/ specifications The team identified that the vessel was red in colour and had no call sign markings except for the vessel stern which had the vessel name and port of registry. Ie; Figure 3: Shot of the vessel from the stern with its marking Figure 4: A side shot of the vessel indicating no other markings on the vessel 11 5

9 Figure 5: A rear snapshot of Fai Manu 5 indicating the area in which the spool and the shooter are located Figure 6; Shot of the branch line bins located on the rear of the vessel. Figure 7; Close shot of the line shooter 12 6

10 5.3 Shark fin During the teams inspection on the vessel, it was gathered that the fins were confirmed to be Oceanic white tip. Evidence of this was collected from the storage areas beneath the wheel house. There were a total of 13 pairs of OCS weighing a total of 5 kg Figure 8 and 9: Shots taken of the fins being weighed on the vessel deck.(weight: 5 kg). Figure 10: Close shot of the OCS fins taken on the vessel deck. The fins we stored back on the vessel and sealed after the inspection. 13 7

11 5.4 Vessel catch log The team during its inspection on the vessel identified that there were no catch log on board. Discussions with the captain indicated that there was no catch log on board. This confirmed the initial point raised by boarding officers indicating the absence of a catch log. 6. Detention of captain At the conclusion of the investigation, the investigation team identified that the Captain Mr Tomasi Feneuataofi had been summoned to appear in the Suva magistrate court for the breach of the Biosecurity Promulgation, The charges are for section 22(3), 23(5) which have amounted to a fine of $3,600. (Refer to attachment 2) The case is between Biosecurity Authority of Fiji and the Captain (Tomasi Fenouataofi). The captain is currently been represented by Mareta Tikoisuva. The case would be reviewed on the 31 st of October, The vessel remains in the custody of the state. 7. Closing Remarks & Recommendations At the conclusion of the investigation, the team was able confirm the following; The vessel had failed to notify flag state due to communication/ liaising problems. The Fisheries Department, FFA and the WCPFC have confirmed that VMS tracks of the vessel cannot be seen due to the fact that the vessel is a domestic vessel and are yet to register under FFA or send the Commission its VTAF agreement form. However, noting that the antenna had been broken and manual reporting was not made, there is a high chance of IUU activity that may have been conducted. All 13 pairs of shark fins on board we identified as Oceanic White Tip (OCS) It is proven that when entering Fiji waters, Fai Manu V had not complied with the standardised vessel marking requirements Infringement on CMM Departing national jurisdiction would require the flag state to register the vessel on the commission RFV, this was not been done. No catch log on board Detention of vessel and Captain due to breaches to the Biosecurity Promulgation Recommendations; Notifications to be sent to the flag sate highlighting the findings made on vessel. 14 8

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