Investigation into the loss of the F/V Athena Regional

Homarus - Project Dates:
July 2007 - July 2007

Description of Project:
The 105 m long Faeroese F/V Athena was fishing 530 nm off Blunt Island, adjacent to the VIII Region of Chile, when it caught fire on 4th July, 2007. Nobody was injured. Initially a safety crew were able to prevent the fire from spreading and the trawler headed by own power for Talcahuano, Chile where she was anchored in Conception Bay. However by 8th July, even though Chilean fire crews had joined the safety crew, control was lost of the fire and the vessel abandoned. The vessel was then towed out of the bay to reduce the threat of pollution.

Services Provided:
The purpose of this brief paper is to provide a brief overview of the incident and to review the wider circumstances in which the Athena was involved e.g. fishing for small pelagic fish stocks in the eastern South Pacific. Two aspects are examined, these being (i) trends in small pelagic catches and (ii) fisheries management issues, including access to foreign vessels.