The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Alex Haley detained the fishing vessel Run Da suspected of illegal, unreported, unregulated fishing activity Saturday in international waters 860 miles east of Hokkaido, Japan.
The crew of the Alex Haley, a 282-foot medium endurance cutter homeported in Kodiak, and People’s Republic of China Coast Guard officers conducted a joint international boarding on the high seas of the Chinese-flagged fishing vessel Run Da.
A U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak C-130 aircraft, forward deployed on a North Pacific Coast Guard Forum multi-national fisheries enforcement patrol supported by Canada, China, Japan, Russia and the Republic of Korea, sighted the suspected IUU fishing vessel.
Upon arriving on scene, the U.S. Coast Guard and PRC Coast Guard conducted a set of pre-boarding questions over VHF-FM radio to confirm fishing activity and nationality. After questioning was complete and clearance to board was obtained from both United States and China, the Alex Haley boarding team deployed to assist the PRC Coast Guard investigation and to document the suspected illegal fishing activity.
