Maputo, Mozambique, 5 Dec – Mozambique now has a new ship to patrol its Exclusive Economic Zone and try to bring an end to illegal fishing, mainly of tuna and shark fins, by foreign ships, Mozambican newspaper Notícias reported.

The ship is the Antillas Reefer, which was seized in July 2008 for illegal fishing off the Mozambican coast and which has been heavily refurbished in order to carry out a number of activities, including patrolling the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) said the national director for Fishing Inspection, Manuel Casteano.

It is estimated that illegal fishing leads to losses for Mozambique of at least US$64 million each year.

Casteano said that although the Antillas Reefer was vessel that could be used for a number of activities it would, for the fishing sector, increase patrols carried out by Kuswag-1, a ship chartered in 2008 with the financial support of Norway.

The Kuswag-1 is currently sued to patrol shrimp fishing, and thus with the Antillas Reefer it will be possible to cover other species such as tuna and shark.

Casteano also said that the Antillas Reefer was able to remain at sea continuously for four months, thus making it possible to cover Mozambique’s ZEE in a more comprehensive way. (macauhub)