In June, the French armed forces destroyed four Brazilian ships controlled in full force. “illegal fishing” off the coast of Guyana and whose captains have been placed in police custody, the prefect of this French territory in South America announced this Monday, June 24, 2024.
During this operation to combat illegal fishing, carried out from June 5 to 16 by the ” armed forces “, five ships “originating from Brazil” have been checked “in illegal fishing action in French territorial waters”, wrote the prefect of Guyana, Antoine Poussier, in a press release.
Captains of ships taken into custody
Three of these ships were diverted to the port of Larivot “before being destroyed by decision of the judge of freedoms and detention”, while a fourth “had to be dumped at sea after capsizing during the control phase”, continued the prefect.
“Under the authority of the public prosecutor of the Cayenne judicial court, the captains of the four destroyed ships were placed in police custody and given a summons to appear in court,” the prefecture further underlined.
The operation led to the seizure of 7.5 tonnes of fish and 28 km of nets.
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Ten ships destroyed since the start of the year
The fight against illegal fishing is a challenge in this French department bordering Brazil. At the end of March, during a trip to Guyana, President Emmanuel Macron promised to combat this phenomenon.
Questioned about this unfair competition on a fish market, he notably deplored the “neighbor predation” and was committed to “strengthen control provisions against illegal fishing and marketing”, with a multiplication of “dismantling operations” and destruction of seized vessels.
Since the start of the year, the prefecture of Guyana pointed out on Monday, the State has destroyed ten vessels used for this illicit activity.
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