FFA REGIONAL HEADQUARTERS, HONIARA, SOLOMON ISLANDS, TUESDAY 24 AUGUST 2010: This year's Operation Island Chief, a surveillance operation involving Papua New Guinea, Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Kiribati and the United States of America, coordinated by the FFA Regional Fisheries Surveillance Centre, ended yesterday with success in the region's activities to deter illegal fishing.
Over the past 7 days, Pacific patrol boats, US Coast Guard vessels and a US Navy aircraft have surveyed approximately 12,000,000 square kilometers of ocean, sighting numerous vessels and checking their compliance with a range of fisheries regulations.
Approximately 200 people were involved in the surveillance effort and 350 fishing vessels were monitored during the operation, 99 vessels were sighted and 20 boarded.
