The Nation - News from Aug. 2, 1988

More than 40 Japanese fishing vessels were spotted beyond their prescribed North Pacific boundaries last month, and one of them evaded and then tried to ram an approaching Coast Guard cutter, officials said. “The ramming maneuver began from a dead stop,” Coast Guard spokesman Ed Moreth said. “It was deliberate.” The Coast Guard reported the alleged boundary violations involving 48 vessels to the Japanese government and filed a formal complaint over the attempted ramming with the State Department, which would then pursue the complaint. The Coast Guard cutter was able to evade the ramming action by the Japanese vessel, and a boarding party from the cutter later went aboard the ship and found salmon and trout that were seized as evidence of the fishing violations, officials said.