James BryceFISH allegedly caught using child labour and heading for dinner tables across Spain in time for Holy Week, has been seized by authorities.
The 1,100 tonne catch, worth around 4.5m euros, was impounded in the Canary Islands, on suspicion of being caught using illegal ‘pirate fishing’ off West Africa.
Senegalese children as young as 14, believed to have been at sea for three months, were among the crew of three refrigeration boats from South Korea, Panama and China at the centre of the investigation.
The cargo, seized by Spanish authorities, included octopus, squid, sole, shrimp and grouper.
It is the biggest action yet against the landing of illegally caught fish since the introduction of EU legislation aimed at preventing unregulated fishing.
