Sri Lankan vessel intercepted on suspicion of illegal fishing on the Mahé plateau |17 October 2017

A Sri Lankan vessel was intercepted on the Mahé plateau in the early hours on Sunday October 15, 2017 after reports were received from a local fisherman of suspected illegal fishing on the plateau.

The approximate position of the vessel arrested was 72MN south east from Mahé (Constant Bank).

Preliminarily inspections done revealed a number of shark carcasses and dried fins as well as fishing gears.

The vessel (LMUL-A-0520 KLT) was escorted to Mahé by Coast Guard patrol vessel Le Constant and it arrived in the port of Victoria at around 1pm yesterday.

Investigations are currently ongoing and more information will be communicated in due course.