S. Korean captain released after admitting to illegal fishing in EEZ+

TOTTORI, Japan, Jan. 14 Kyodo -
The Japan Coast Guard on Friday released the captain of a South Korean
crab-fishing boat after he admitted to trespassing in Japan's exclusive
economic zone.
The captain was released from the maritime police office in Sakai, Tottori
Prefecture, around noon Friday after an official from the South Korean Embassy
in Tokyo submitted a written guarantee to pay a cash bond of 250,000 yen,
according to Coast Guard officials.
Under a bilateral agreement between Japan and South Korea, fishermen arrested
for illegal fishing in each country's EEZ are released immediately, along with
their vessels and gear, if they admit to the violation.
The Coast Guard plans to send papers on the case to prosecutors.
The 29-ton boat, originally detected around 12:30 a.m. Thursday in waters off
Hyogo Prefecture, was stopped around 100 kilometers northwest of the Oki
Islands around 11:30 p.m. after it failed to comply with orders to halt and
tried to flee.
==Kyodo
2011-01-14 23:19:41