The patrol boat ‘Arnomendi’ concluded the fishing monitoring campaign in the Atlantic Ocean

The oceanic patrol vessel (OPV) ‘Arnomendi’ has just returned to her home port in Cartagena, once the international deep sea monitoring campaign has come to an end. The ship was made available to the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA) for this year’s campaign.

The 20-day deployment took place in EU waters of the North-eastern Atlantic Ocean supervising fishing activities of regulated pelagic species. The main tasks consisted in monitoring the authorized fishing boats, controlling fish catches and trawlers from non-EU nations, possible illegal activities of third parties and implementation of current fishing regulations.

To conduct this mission, four inspectors embarked onboard the Spanish OPV: 2 from SEGEPESCA (General Secretariat of Maritime Fishing), one EU inspector from the Portuguese National Resources Directorate and an EFCA inspector.

29 trawlers inspected

In the course of the campaign, 29 trawlers were boarded and inspected. On seven occasions the ship’s inspectors started the corresponding infringement proceedings. Furthermore, the ‘Arnomendi’ also seized a Portuguese fishing boat.

On March 14th and 15th, the ‘Arnomendi’ made a port of call in Gijón for crew rest and rotation of inspectors. The F-100 frigate ‘Blas de Lezo’ was also docked in that northern Spanish city, thus highlighting the presence of the Spanish Navy. Around 1,200 people visited the ship during the open day.