The Fisheries Agency seized a Chinese fishing boat and arrested its skipper Thursday for allegedly operating in Japan's exclusive economic zone off Nagasaki Prefecture, the agency said.
The 197-ton Chinese dragnet fishing vessel was identified as the Zhelingyu 23327, manned by a crew of nine. Skipper Zhuang Zhongjun, 35, was arrested on suspicion of operating in the 200-nautical mile (370 km) zone without permission from Japan.
An investigation found that Zhuang conducted unauthorized fishing operations in the East China Sea about 96 km west-northwest of Fukue Island in the Goto island chain off Kyushu at around 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, officials said.
A Japanese fisheries patrol boat spotted the Chinese boat operating in the EEZ, where it caught about 300 kg of fish, including cuttlefish and bream, they said.