FEATURES Herc
RAF Hercules crews are playing a vital role patrolling the seas around the Falkland Islands to prevent illegal fishing. They are also in the UK working with the Paras. Here we hear from just a few Herc Men.
T
he sale of fishing licences is the main income stream for the Falkland Islands economy. Vessels are
permitted to work in the Falkland Islands Inner and Outer Conservation Zones, rich fishing grounds which extend 200 miles from the Islands where squid is the main catch.
With several hundred vessels working in the area at any one time, patrolling the large expanse of ocean is essential to ensure the licence system is not abused.
Each fishing vessel over 300 tonnes transmits a signal which can be plotted and interrogated on a laptop in the Hercules cockpit. A click of the mouse can reveal a wealth of information, including the dimensions of the vessel, its country of registration and its current activity. More importantly the identity of each trawler is cross-referenced with a list of the issued licences held on the aircraft.
These actions are undertaken by the Air Loadmaster as FS Daz Addison explains: “If not on the list of licences issued by the Falkland Islands Government we’ll drop to
low-level and take photographs of the vessel and send a report to Fisheries Operations. The Falkland Islands have their own fishery protection vessel which can then investigate further if required.”
“We always do this in the Falkland Islands. It’s a secondary role and as we’re airborne most days in any event and we’re happy to be tasked to do it.”
The C-130 crews will also use the aircraft radar to detect any vessels which are not broadcasting their details. On each and every
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Envoy Winter 2013
www.raf-ff.org.uk
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