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Boats fishing illegally in the South Pacific have been warned they will be caught as the air force steps up its patrols.
An air force P3 Orion recently conducted the first night patrol of Vanuatu's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) after a short-notice request from the Vanuatu Maritime Surveillance Centre.
The Orion used
its night vision equipment, including infrared heat detection systems and other search sensors, to find several fishing boats and yachts and monitored them until daylight.
The air force said with a 12-hour flight endurance and 2500 nautical mile patrol range, the Orion was capable of detecting illegal fishing at night and loitering in the area to gather evidence until patrol vessels arrived.
The Vanuatu EEZ was patrolled successfully on three nights during flights from Noumea and Papua New Guinea.
"This demonstrates the increasing flexibility of our surveillance operations," said Squadron Leader Glen Graham from the Joint Force Headquarters.
"The message to all fishing operators is clear. Our aircraft will patrol seven days of the week, any time of the day or night to ensure that the marine resources of the South Pacific are monitored, policed and protected." he said in the latest issue of Air Force News.
"It is also very encouraging that increasingly we see greater coordination of patrols and information sharing between the Australian Defence Force, the United States Coastguard, the French Navy and maritime surveillance centres."
In the next 12 months the air force was expected to fly 320 hours of Pacific surveillance, in addition to the 400 hours over the New Zealand exclusive economic zone. It will monitor 20 million square miles of ocean.
- NZPA
