The Australian Defence Force (ADF) has successfully completed Operation Solania \u2212 its latest maritime surveillance mission aimed at detecting and deterring illegal fishing activities in the waters of Samoa and Tonga.<\/p>\n
The operation is part of the ADF\u2019s support to regional maritime security, including to Pacific Islands Forum Fishing Agency (FFA) operations.<\/p>\n
During this iteration of Operation Solania, a dedicated Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) C-27J Spartan aircraft conduct extensive patrols to provide crucial surveillance support to combat illegal fishing practices in the region under the FFA\u2019s Operation Tui Moana.<\/p>\n
Commander ADF in the South-West Pacific, Major General Scott Winter, AM, said the ADF\u2019s support was a major part of Australia\u2019s longstanding commitment to maritime security.<\/p>\n
\u201cIllegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing not only threatens the delicate balance of marine ecosystems but also undermines the livelihoods of legitimate fishermen and the economic stability of coastal communities,\u201d Major General Winter said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ADF is proud to partner with the FFA, Pacific partners, and members of the Pacific Quadrilateral Defence Coordination Group (Australia, the United States,<\/p>\n
New Zealand and France) in our collective efforts to combat illegal fishing activities.<\/p>\n
\u201cOperation Solania has been instrumental in deterring IUU fishing, protecting the marine environment, and ensuring the sustainability of fish populations in the region.”<\/p>\n
Throughout the operation, aircrew conducted comprehensive maritime surveillance to detect, track and monitor vessels engaged in illegal fishing practices.<\/p>\n
The aerial patrols covered 469,896 square kilometres of the Samoan and Tongan exclusive economic zones, identifying seven vessels of interest, and documenting suspicious activities and providing crucial information to the FFA and enforcement authorities on the ground.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":5,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[177],"tags":[391,2142],"region":[44],"source":[9699],"country":[1934,2612],"state":[],"city":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.icsf.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newss\/102927"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.icsf.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newss"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.icsf.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/newss"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.icsf.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.icsf.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newss\/102927\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":102928,"href":"https:\/\/www.icsf.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newss\/102927\/revisions\/102928"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.icsf.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102927"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.icsf.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102927"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.icsf.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102927"},{"taxonomy":"region","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.icsf.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/region?post=102927"},{"taxonomy":"source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.icsf.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/source?post=102927"},{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.icsf.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=102927"},{"taxonomy":"state","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.icsf.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/state?post=102927"},{"taxonomy":"city","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.icsf.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/city?post=102927"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}