On April 13, 2021, the Brazilian Navy Patrol Vessel (NPa, in Portuguese) Guanabara, under the Northern Naval Patrol Group Command, intercepted a Venezuelan-flagged vessel, which was fishing illegally in Brazilian jurisdictional waters, off the coast of Amapá state.
The operation was carried out during a naval patrol, in coordination with the 4th Naval District Command, in Belém, Pará state, and the Integrated Center for Maritime Security in Rio de Janeiro, with additional support from a Brazilian Air Force aircraft.
The Brazilian Navy found that the vessel, with 14 crew members, had left the city of Margarita in Venezuela, stopped to refuel in Suriname, came to the Brazilian coast to fish, and planned to return to Margarita with approximately 600 kilogramos of snapper and grouper, caught without the required license.
Grouper fishing has been prohibited in Brazil since 2002 by order of the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA, in Portuguese), as it is a species with a low reproducting rate.
Service members of the NPa Guanabara inspected the vessel, took control of it, and escorted it to the port of Santana, Amapá state, where it docked on April 16, and was brought to the Amapá Port Captaincy and other agencies, such as the Federal Police and IBAMA, for authorities to take the appropriate measures.
This operation reinforces the importance of implementing the Blue Amazon Management System to enable monitoring and control of the Blue Amazon, ensuring the nation’s sovereignty, and curbing illicit activities such as illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing.
