Japanese tuna vessel returns to sea today following bail bond lodgment of almost £1m

SHE second Japanese vessel detained for illegal fishing in Irish waters is returning to sea today, following a bail bond lodgment of almost £1 million.

The bond, which was the largest sum in State history for a fishery case, was lodged yesterday on behalf of the Shoshin Maru. The sum of £989,350 covers the 80 tonnes of tuna and gear on the ship, together with possible fines and State costs.

The 49 metre vessel, which has she capacity for some £4 million of bluefin tuna per trip, was due to sail on high tide shortly after midnight from Castletownbere, Co Cork.

Such is the frequency of fishery arrests within Irish exclusive fishery limits that bail bonds are normally lodged within hours of a court hearing, so allowing a vessel to put to sea again.

The first Japanese vessel to be arrested by the Naval Service, the Minato Maru, was able to return within 24 hours of detention to the tuna grounds on payment of a 283,936 bond. However, the high amount demanded of the Shoshin Maru forced it to spend a weekend in port, following its escort to Berehaven by the LE Deirdre.

The Air Corps Casa fishery patrol plane and LE Deirdre are continuing to monitor activity at the 200 mile perimeter, where up to 30 Japanese longliners have been reported, while the naval flagship, LE Eithne, replaced the LE Aisling at sea yesterday.

The Aisling escorted the Japanese fishing vessel with five dead crew on board to the Naval Base at Haulbowline yesterday afternoon and is not due to resume duty again until next week.

A Department of the Marine surveyor has been despatched to Cork to assess the Taisei Maru, as part of the inquest into the deaths last Friday of five crew, including the fishing master and engineer.

The incident was reported in international waters 240 miles off the Galway coast, and so no inquiry will take place here. However, the Garda Siochana requested technical assistance for the inquest, and the Department has also offered to help the Japanese authorities.

Some uncertainty still surrounds the precise timing of the freon gas leak on the ship. The Japanese maritime agency in Yokohama was the first to confirm that an accident had occurred at 11 a.m. on Friday, and a request for assistance was not made to the Irish Marine Emergency Service until 4 p.m. Freon, which is used in refrigeration, is not toxic but consumes oxygen. There is speculation that the accident may have occurred when a compressor blew or when a gas bottle exploded.

The event has received widespread news coverage in Japan, following earlier reports of confrontations" between the Naval Service and Japanese vessels in Irish waters.

The three ships which made headlines are part of a 200 strong tuna fleet, working in the north Atlantic and transferring fish by shore or reefer ship for delivery to the lucrative tuna market in Japan.

The tuna spawns near the Azores, around Gibraltar and between Sicily and Sardinia, and swims up the Atlantic through Irish waters, following thermal currents influenced by the Gulf Stream.

The Irish South and West Fishermen's Organisation chairman, Mr Donal O'Driscoll, called yesterday for more details from the Department of the Marine on recent applications by Korean and Japanese agents for "exploratory" fishing licences in Irish waters. As there is no EU fisheries agreement with Japan, the applications were refused, but permits might be granted if a joint venture were to apply.

Mr O'Driscoll said that no such joint ventures should be entertained, given the sorry record of such agreements in the past and the fact that Irish vessels had been "driven out of the albacore tuna fishery off the South West of Ireland.

A fleet of up to 20 Irish tuna vessels has dwindled to seven, since the EU directive restricting gear length was introduced on foot of the 1994 tuna dispute with Spain.

Mr O'Driscoll also reiterated his call yesterday for more research and State support for a bluefin tuna fishery.