DATELINE: 18th September 2001

GALAPAGOS ARREST
Two diving charter boats operating in the Galapagos islands have arrested a Costa Rican fishing vessel which was spotted setting long-lines in island waters where fishing is banned.
The vessel Galapagos Aggressor I gave chase, joined by the Galapagos Aggressor II once it had retrieved divers that were in the water. The two vessels succeeded in cornering the fishing boat, which was forced to anchor east of Darwin Island and was guarded until park authorities arrived.
The fishing boat was taken to Baltra, where an investigation is under way.
Only recently, in another case involving a seized boat, an Ecuadorian judge ruled that to impound and destroy the catch of a vessel caught fishing illegally was not to breach the rights of a fishing operator.
The ruling overturned a previous Ecuadorian judgement which had allowed yet another seized vessel to go free, on the grounds that its detention had been in violation of its owner's rights.

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