JUNEAU -- Federal officials are deciding how to dispose of a ship seized last year for illegal fishing.
A federal judge last month issued a decree of forfeiture for the Bangun Perkasa, officially turning it over to the federal government.
The U.S. Coast Guard last year seized the vessel about 2,600 miles southwest of Kodiak after a report the ship was fishing illegally with a driftnet. Authorities said 54 shark carcasses and more than 30 tons of squid were found on board.
Sherrie Tinsley-Myers, special agent in charge for NOAA Law Enforcement in Alaska, says it will take time to gather the information needed to make a decision on how to dispose of the ship.
The vessel has been at Dutch Harbor.
By BECKY BOHRER
Associated Press