The Forum Fisheries Agency reports that three vessels have been forced into ports during a major surveillance operation.
Operation Kurukuru, involving four aircraft and eight patrol boats, covered an area of 10 million square kilometres in the central Pacific over a ten-day period.
It led to the boarding of 21 vessels, the levying of one instant 10,000 US dollar fine, and the apprehension of three boats which were escorted to port for further investigation.
The four aircraft involved, from Australia, New Zealand, France and the US, flew a total of 85 hours over the zone, which covered the Exclusive Economic Zones of the Cook Islands, Kiribati, Niue, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
The South Korean flagged Dae Yang was fined for misreporting its discarded species after being boarded in Tuvalu waters.
The fine was paid immediately and the boat continued on its way.
A total of 16 vessels were boarded in Kiribati waters with four of them being issued final warnings.
