Mozambique seizes ship over illegal fishing: report

MAPUTO (Reuters) - Mozambique's government seized a Namibian registered ship carrying tons of sharks illegally fished in its waters, the official Noticias reported on Saturday.

The paper quoted Fisheries Minister Cadmiel Muthemba as saying the ship, named "Antillas Reefer", was seized off the coast of the central Zambezia province on June 23.

Noticias said fishing inspectors found 43 tons of sharks, four tons of shark fin, 1.8 tons of shark tail, 11.3 tons of shark liver and 20 tons of shark oil, all with an estimated value of $5 million on board the unlicensed ship.

Shark fins are an expensive delicacy in Asia, while shark liver and oil are used for medicinal purposes.

The Fisheries Ministry fined the ship's owners $4.5 million, and confiscated the craft and all its contents, the paper said.

Illegal fishing is rife in Mozambique, which lacks the capacity to effectively monitor its high seas.

(Reporting by Charles Mangwiro, editing by Bate Felix and Mary Gabriel)

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