21 Aug 2017

Solomon Islands set to destroy seized Vietnamese blue boats

4:41 pm on 21 August 2017

A deal has been signed in Solomons Islands to destroy the Vietnamese blue boats caught fishing illegally earlier this year.

Vietnamese blue boats seized on Sunday in Solomon Islands Rennell and Bellona province, for allegedly fishing illegally off of Indispensable Reef, dock at the Patrol Boat Base in Honiara on Wednesday 29-03-2017.

Vietnamese blue boats seized on Sunday in Solomon Islands Rennell and Bellona province, for allegedly fishing illegally off of Indispensable Reef, dock at the Patrol Boat Base in Honiara on Wednesday 29-03-2017. Photo: RNZI/Supplied by Frank Aote’e

An arrangement has been made between the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources and Iona Firi Properties Limited for the vessels' destruction in Malaita within four weeks.

The director of fisheries Edward Honiwala said this followed a High Court decision after the boats failed to pass their sea worthiness examination.

The boats must be destroyed in an environmentally and ecologically friendly manner in line with environmental and international laws that Solomon Islands has signed to observe.