PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKY, January 13, 2004. (RIA Novosti correspondent Oksana Guseva) - The captains of twenty fishing boats were sentenced last year for illegal fishing off the Kamchatka Peninsula which is washed from the east by the waters of the Bering Sea and from the south west - by the Sea of Okhotsk, said nature protection presecutor of the Kamchatka Region Alexander Teplyakov.
According to him, 27 criminal cases and 14 administrative cases were launched in 2003 in connection with illegal fishing in the exclusively economic zone of Russia.
Captain of the Manjek-21 boat, citizen of the Republic of Korea Kim Man Seb was called to criminal account for fishing 39 tons of cod. The court ruled to fine him. The damage done to the interests of Russia in the amount of more than 33,000 US dollars was voluntarily compensated by the ship owner during the preliminary investigation.
Two other criminal cases of foreign citizens are now being examined by the court: Japanese captain of the Kayo-Maru-3 trawler Fukagawa Jenjo, and Chinese captain of the Minh-Chang trawler Xiu Weiguang.
