Alert saw naval and air resources “immediately activated”
A very unusual alert was sounded yesterday morning south and south-west of the island of Flores, the smallest and western-mmost island of the Azores archipelago. According to reports, the alert described “several Chinese fishing vessels in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the Azores”.
It is not clear from SIC’s report, in what format this alert was received.
Today, the media channel writes that the Azores government has concluded that the alert “may have been a case of falsification of data from the Automatic Identification System (AIS)”.
But falsification by whom? An alogorithm? And to what ends? Little is explained.
Says SIC: “According to a statement issued today by the Regional Government of the Azores (PSD/CDS-PP/PPM), the alert for the situation, which occurred to the south and south-west of the island of Flores, in the Western group, was given on Wednesday at 10:30 local time (11:30 in Lisbon), after which the authorities began an inspection and patrol mission.
“It was 10:30 on Wednesday when the inspection service of the Regional Secretariat for the Sea and Fisheries alerted the Fisheries Control and Surveillance Centre, of the Directorate-General for Natural Resources, Safety and Maritime Services, to the existence of 16 vessels flying the flag of the People’s Republic of China to the south of the island of Flores, identified in Marine Traffic by land-based AIS, as being fishing vessels and showing behaviour apparently not compatible with fishing activities and operations”, reads the note.
Following the alert, the naval and air resources of organisations participating in the Integrated System for the Surveillance, Inspection and Control of Fishing Activities (SIFICAP) were immediately activated.
According to the source, the Navy sent a semi-rigid boat from the Maritime Police on the island of Flores, “to make a first approach”, and the Portuguese Air Force (FAP) sent a P3 aircraft, “to monitor the identified area”.
“However, in order to better monitor the situation and its evolution, the satellite services of the European Maritime Safety Agency were requested to provide access/images from the Copernicus service”, the source added.
The naval unit of the Local Command of the Flores Maritime Police was on the scene and “did not find any vessels”.
An air force plane also “flew over the area beyond the reference area, including up to the limits of the national EEZ in the Azores sub-area, and did not find any ships in this group, which suggests that this is AIS “spoofing”’, said the Azorean executive.
Surveillance thus ended at the end of the day
Inspections were concluded at 20:30 local time on Wednesday (21:30 in Lisbon). The issue was mentioned in posts on social media and Lusa news agency received an email on Wednesday evening from a resident on the island of Flores, warning of “an illegal invasion by a Chinese fishing fleet”.
‘There are more than a dozen Chinese-flagged fishing vessels stationed a few miles off the coast of the island and in the Portuguese EEZ, presumably trawling for a number of protected species (such as tuna, which Portuguese fishermen are forbidden to catch)”, warned José Madeira.
The same resident who lives on Flores described the situation as “unprecedented (…) Because this is the first time that a Chinese fishing fleet has blatantly violated Portugal’s Exclusive Economic Zone, which is naturally making local residents and fishermen very nervous and worried”, he said.
So who is telling the truth?
Right wing party CHEGA is already ‘siding’ with the likes of José Madeira (and has carried an image presumably showing the location of the Chinese boats, see above):
CHEGA Azores MP José Paulo Sousa has called the situation “alarming”, referring to “15 Chinese-flagged fishing vessels operating in the Azores’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). A situation that “raises serious questions about the management and sovereignty of our maritime resources.
“While our fishermen are strangled by crippling quotas that limit their access to the resources of the sea itself, such as the quotas for Skate (“Rabilo”), Bigeye tuna (“Patudo”) and others, these foreign vessels act with impunity. Our seafarers are constantly harassed by laws and regulations that, in the name of environmental protection, such as the creation of the new Marine Protected Areas, will further restrict their activity,’ adds Sousa, who is from Flores.
“What is the point of protecting our sea if we allow foreign nations, who don’t respect our ecosystem, to continue operating with destructive fishing gear in our territory?”, he goes on.
For CHEGA, it is imperative that the government takes a firm and uncompromising stance. ‘
“What we are allowing today is a silent invasion of our seas, an unscrupulous exploitation of our resources, which jeopardises not only our ecosystem, but also the survival of our fishing community”, says Sousa.
CHEGA demands immediate action to defend the Azorean sea, which it says “is being plundered”.
“Let this government stand up to defend what is ours, let it impose the rules that are already suffocating our fishermen on foreigners who dare to exploit our riches without consideration. Only in this way can we guarantee a sustainable, fair and prosperous future for our maritime communities”.
Or is this all an August spoof?
According to Marine Traffic website, the Jicaoyu01234 fishing boat, sailing under the Chinese flag, is in the Azores, along with at least five other Chinese fishing boats.
The other reference given in CHEGA’s post does not appear to exist, according to Marine Traffic.
Source material: SIC Notícias/ Facebook
