KOROR – The Western Pacific island nation of Palau has set fire to four Vietnamese fishing vessels caught illegally operating in its waters to deliver a stern and uncompromising warning that it will not tolerate poaching in its waters.

“We wanted to send a very strong message. We will not tolerate any more these pirates who come and steal our resources,” president Tommy Remengesau Jr said after the boats were burned on Friday.

“This message goes to the captain and crews of these vessels. Palau guarantees you will return with nothing,” president Tommy Remengesau Jr said after the boats were burned on Friday.

The Vietnamese boats were caught in a protected area with more than eight tonnes of sea cucumber and reef fish aboard.

The 77 crew members were transferred to two other seized fishing boats and dispatched with enough fuel and provisions to get back to Vietnam.

Since last year, 15 boats from Vietnam have been seized with more than 25 tonnes of Palau’s marine species destined for the black market in Asia.

“We have a simple message for those who try to steal Palau’s marine resources – we will not tolerate poachers in our ocean,” Remengesau said.

“Palau is working with our military, diplomacy, and NGO partners from around the world to get tough on illegal fishers and protect our food security.

“Captains will be prosecuted and jailed. Boats will be burned. Nothing will be gained from poaching in Palau.

“From one fisherman to another – respect Palau,”the president said.

Palau hosted workshops last month involving maritime surveillance authorities from the United States, Australia, Japan and the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency, designed to develop a comprehensive marine enforcement plan.

Remengesau has proposed a ban on all foreign fishing in Palau’s exclusive economic zone, which extends 200 nautical miles out from shore and covers an area the size of New South Wales.

“The Palau National Marine Sanctuary will have a world-class enforcement strategy that makes use of the latest technology,” President Remengesau said on the workshop’s opening day.

Several countries have begun taking steps to crack down on illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing, but the high seas between Palau and Japan are unregulated and difficult to monitor.

“Illegal fishing is a major threat to Palau, given its location as a critical gateway to the Pacific,” Seth Horstmeyer director of The Pew Charitable Trusts’ Global Ocean Legacy programme said.

“Vietnamese fishermen tend to stay near shallows and reefs in order to catch reef fish and sea cucumbers.

“There’s a lot of opportunity for illegal fishing and other transnational crime. It’s a challenge.”

The Australian who heads Pacific fishery management, Dominique Schwartz, warned Western Pacific tuna stocks are facing disaster.

“With a no-tolerance policy and growing enforcement capabilities, illegal fishing will be stopped in Palau.”

“There are species of bluefin and species of bigeye tuna that are dangerously close to becoming unsustainable,” he told ABC’s Foreign Correspondent programme.

“Those are the hard facts that we have to look at.”

Palau has a fishing-reliant economy for its population of 21,000 people spread across 250 islands.