response to complaints raised with SHG regarding the operations of the fishing vessel St Albatros, we committed to providing a public response.
Following an investigation conducted by Crown Counsel, the St Albatros and its operations have been found to be compliant with our international fishing commitments with the exception of the following two errors by SHG:
- Notification to the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) that Ruperts Port was being utilised to land catches made by an internationally flagged vessel; and
- An appropriate access agreement being in place between SHG and South Africa, given that the vessel was sailing under a South African flag.
These errors are now considered historic, given that St Albatros is currently operating under the St Helena flag.
The errors were made by the Public Service and arise from the ambiguities between local Ordinance and ICCAT rules. However, we have been advised that the errors are considered to be minor, administrative issues.
Nonetheless, they should not have happened and I would like to apologise to all of those concerned, whether directly, indirectly or as islanders who simply expect the highest standards from their Public Service. We are reporting these errors to ICCAT to ensure accountability in our fishing sector and will learn from these errors to ensure that they do not happen again.
We are now committed to supporting the comprehensive fishing sector review announced by Minister Thrower, and consider this matter closed.
#StHelena #FishingSector
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Ian Todd
Chief Secretary and Head of the Public Service
