Authority asks Chinese fishing vessel to return

THE National Fisheries Authority has requested the Chinese fishing vessel Feng Xiang to return to Papua New Guinea to help in the investigation into the disappearance last week of a PNG observer on board.
James Numbaru was reported missing around 2am on Wednesday last week while the vessel was sailing to Nauru.
He was one of the two observers on board.
The other is from the Solomon Islands.
NFA managing director John Kasu told The National that it was an operational concern for the authority which would be investigated in due course.
“This is a very unfortunate situation which the National Fisheries Authority is very concern about,” Kasu said.
“It has requested the vessel to return to PNG so that the NFA and other authorities can investigate this unfortunate occurrence.”
Nauru police had conducted their own investigation when the vessel arrived there.
Kasu said the National Fisheries Authority’s immediate concern was to attend to and address the concerns and enquiries from the immediate family.
“This is what the National Fisheries Authority is currently doing. We will address the other wider issues in due course,” he said.
“The safety and protection of observers operating within the WCPF (Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission) area have been an ongoing concern.”