Friday 05 September 2003 Toothfish 'pirates' held after chase  | The Australian customs ship which chased an illegal fishing boat thousands of kilometres through the southern ocean has arrived in Cape Town. The crew told of a three-week chase through the Antarctic, surviving high winds, icebergs and pack-ice, before finally catching up with and boarding the Uruguayan registered ship. This report from Alistair Leithead: |
 Listen to the story The crew of the Southern Supporter, an Australian customs vessel, has finally arrived here in Cape Town harbour after an epic three-week chase through the treacherous southern ocean, dodging icebergs and high seas to arrest the crew of a ship caught poaching rare Patagonian toothfish.The Australian customs officials described how the pursuit began, south of Australia, when they stumbled upon an illegal fishing-boat in a restricted area. The Uruguayan registered ship, Viarsa, headed south towards the winter pack-ice around Antarctica, trying to outrun the pursuers and leading them through ten-metre high waves, dangerously thickening ice and hurricane force winds. Eventually, with support from two ships from South Africa and Britain, the Viarsa was stopped and boarded and 85 tons of the Patagonian toothfish, which are facing extinction, were discovered frozen in the hold. The catch is worth millions of dollars and the Viarsa and its crew, currently being guarded off the South African coast, will be escorted back to Australia to face prosecution. Alistair Leithead, BBC News, Cape Town
Listen to the words treacherous very dangerous dodging trying not to crash into poaching illegally catching the pursuit the chase stumbled upon found by accident the winter pack-ice very thick ice which spreads over a large area during the winter to outrun to go faster than the pursuers the people chasing facing extinction if an animal is facing extinction, there are very few remaining – it is possible that in a short time this animal will be gone forever to face prosecution to be charged with a crime  Read more about this story | |  | | | SEARCH IN LEARNING ENGLISH | | | |
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