THE FLYING DUTCHMAN
(To the memory of Vadim Pererva — chief security officer of FESSR , killed on duty)
He was laconic, serious and as it seemed to me, overmuch severe. “Aye”, — I thought, "people of this kind do not contact willingly, and I will have to drag information by ticks. hat was my first impression of acquaintance to Vadim Pererva — chief security officer of the Far Easter State Sea Reserve. Yet in Vladivostok, director of FESSR warned, that if I would manage to get him to talk, I would dig out information for not a single article. Indeed Pererva has been in reserve for four years. Each poacher knows him there. If he goes to patrol, than it is done. Easy all. Yet in Moscow in editors’ office of the magazine, while discussing the future trip to the reserve, we tried to designate frameworks of the future story. Many questions arose: how to show work of inspectors, whether we will be lucky with the weather? And certainly we did not assume that we would have to participate directly in detention of poachers. But reporter’s fate was favourable.
After lunch we arrived at security cordon of the eastern site of the Far Eastern State Sea Reserve. In the city local drivers refused to go when got to know a final point of destination, referring to inaccessibility and bad road. "To go there means to lose suspension bracket. There are practically no roads there. Everything is bumped.
As a result, after long discussions they accepted to drive us to the point specified by us on a map, having claimed the price — one dollar for one kilometer. After short tenders we agreed on 200 dollars. We understood from resolute faces of drivers, that any further tenders were useless.
The road from Vladivostok to reserve “Rescue” bay took more than six hours. For 260 kilometers we were shivering and jumping up on potholes on worse for wear “Toyota” on hills and passes of the south of the Primorie Territory and Gammov peninsula.
Storm warning was transmitted by radio and the driver hurried up back. He should manage to return before rain, otherwise the semblance of road which is even without that bumped by military tractors will be washed away and he will have to wait a few days while the dirty porridge will dry up.
The cordon turned out to be the
— And where is the chief officer? — I asked.
— He should come soon. He never points out precise time and also does not name dates. He comes when he comes. He has his own schedule.
I was a bit confused with such an answer. So we could do nothing but wait. It drizzled by the evening. It seemed, that rain was being sifted through a sieve. Heavens become grey with dense low clouds of lead color. The wind amplified and began to howl. It darkened quickly. The drizzle turned to the downpour. Not drops anymore, but streams of rain overflowed windows in our room by howls of the wind. One from inspectors says: “Well, it is for a long while now”. The weather gives the first unpleasant surprise and at once changes the mood. That was how the first night passed and all next day.
The Far Eastern State Sea Reserve was created on March, 24th, 1978. It is the unique sea reserve out of 93 natural reserves existing in Russia today. It is the standard of comparison of the seaside nature, islands and shelf of the Primorie Territory. It is paradise for
Islands occupy 2% of the reserve area. There are 11 islands and islets in the reserve. The largest of them is Big Pelis of 380 hectares. The total area of islands is 1100 hectares. On islands you can see rocks, sandy beaches, subtropical woods, steppes, bogs, stale streams and stale lakes. Here there are colonies of sea birds and almost 900 kinds of plants. Only in the reserve rookeries and “maternity hospitals” of bay seals are still kept, which have almost completely disappeared earlier in the southern Primorie Territory. The most numerous populations of these animals lives in the reserve across all Peter the Great Bay.
About 360 kinds of birds, 80 of which nest, are registered on the islands. There is no such variety anywhere in Russia, even in Volga delta! In the reserve there are Japanese and Daur cranes, black vulture, see
Uniqueness of the reserve is also in meeting of two streams in its waters — cold Primorskoe, bringing with itself representatives of sea fauna of the cold seas and warm Zusimskoe which brings tropical sea animals. Here in different years representatives of tropical fauna —
And a bit more about uniqueness.
By evening of the second day the rain stops and the wind abates. One more day is lost. At night a military
In the morning I figured out there were no night visitors on the cordon.
— And there is Pererva? — I ask an inspector.
— They left to the sea yet last night. Night is their full pride of work. At nights poachers lose alertness, and here comes Pererva to catch them.
— And when they will be back?
— He does not report. Maybe today, maybe tomorrow.
— Is it possible to contact him somehow?
— No. He contacts us by himself when necessary.
By twelve o’clock sound of boat motor is heard. A boat appears from behind the island.
— And there goes Pererva with his fighters, — one of inspectors shows to the side of the island. — They are somewhat early today.
In 5 more minutes the boat nestled against bay sand. Three men jump out of the boat. They are two fighters of Vladivostok OMON fully equipped and the chief of reserve protection Vadim Pererva.
— You are the one from Moscow, aren’t you? — a
I get acquainted with OMON men. One of the fighters carries large bucket full with still alive big shrimps, in size of a palm. In the Far East they are called lings.
— Here is, we have taken these away from
Everybody looked a little bit tired. We settled down outside, at the table under sprawling hazel grove. We continue conversation during breakfast.
— Last night we nicked up a poach trawler, says Vadim Pererva. — Tried to intercept it. But apparently, they noticed us also and tailed off. We had to make some precautionary shots. It left beyond waters of reserve and stayed there all the night long. As though they were waiting while we would leave. Didn’t appear till the morning. We were twisting around it and that’s all.
— And what poachers catch now? — I wonder.
— Mainly — crab. Put crab traps and lift them after a while. King crab, snow crab and hair crab comes across. And it is not compulsory for a trawler to come into port with the caught crab. At a certain moment another, more
— And what means “the full program”? — I ask.
— Large fines are drawn, licenses are cancelled, and criminal cases are started. The maximal terms of punishment for such affairs is up to 2 years in prison. We have too soft legislation.
— There is less and less crab now, — continues Pererva, — that is why they creep to the reserve. Recently we have engaged OMON to our raids. You feel more confident with them, in case of necessity they can even use a weapon. By the way, I think, the trawler has had time to set traps for. And now it will need to take them all away. Thus it will for sure come to the reserve to get them. That’s where we will straddle it, — Pererva summarizes with satisfaction, having struck table by the sharp of the hand. Dangerous gleam revealed in the eyes. One of
Evidently, they all have been waiting for this moment. Night raid should bring its fruits.
— And do you often have to use weapon?
— Unfortunately, more often than I would like. Sometimes poachers also pepper away at us. Last year an inspector stopped poacher boat. So guys fired him off from no big thing. Good is that only a hand was raked. And in April of this year on Big Pelis island an inspector noticed two poacher boats. There was one inspector and eight poachers. As soon as they saw him, added gas and went ramming. They gave the stem of inspection’ boat from two boards. But failed to sink it. The hole happened to be above a waterline. So we are here as on war. By the way there was also an amusing case this winter. We left once on inspection. In some time mentioned poacher boat. Well, put on gas and rush to it. But guys do not run away, but on the contrary, turned around and give her gun to our side. Like that we fly against each other. A few meters remain. The deuce, I think, there will be a collision right now. And suddenly the boat sharply turns around and flies away from us. We have caught it up, and ask, blokes, what for have you been playing heroes. And they answer, that have mixed us with competitors. Thought to grapple with. And when they have understood that have fallen across protections, it was already too late.
— And what were they fishing?
— We were getting trepang. It is one more illegal business. Have taken them, as the saying is,
— And how many people are busy with protection?
— Only 7 cordons and 17 inspectors. Part of them patrol water area by motor boats, others keep coastline. Every day patrol goes around bays of the reserve.
The inspector rushes out of radio cabin.
— Vadim, lookout post reports your night trawler is in the reserve already. Have to take it while it’s hot.
Everyone come off places just as scalded. On the move Pererva offers: if you want to shoot this concert, you’ve got three minutes to pack. Jump to the boat and let’s go.
In three minutes the protection boat departs from coast. OMON fighters dress masks. Pererva tries to constrain emotions, but everything is evident in this eyes. We turn on radar. On the sly, as if stealthily — we move crawling along picturesque bays. But anybody as if does not notice the beauty. I prepare the camera and hold it in the hand. Waves amplify noticeably. Ahead there is a silhouette of a fishing trawler. We look at radar. The trawler point is motionless.
— They began to intake traps. — Pererva says. — Now we will approach it as near as only possible, crawling, and as soon as they mention us, turn tail and run, and that’s it, it will not escape. We will be inobservable for the trawler as long as we can. That is why we try not to get on for a radio contact, do not disclose our radio call. Everything is for masking.
— The Flying Dutchman tactics. — I clarify. Pererva smiles and nods.
The motor boat is painted grey and this camouflages it perfectly. It fades with grey sea and becomes practically invisible.
— Ok, they got us, — says Pererva. — Everybody get ready. Hang on.
Speed control handle pressed home. The
— Stay cool man, — one of OMON men throws up his gun, — step lively back.
The team does not resist and becomes lamblike. The crab is again on the deck. A rope gangway is given. OMON fighters are first to debark on the vessel. Behind them I clamber also on the gangway. Everything happens very quickly. Capture of the vessel has taken just a few minutes.
— Shoot all the process, you’ll get material for … and Pererva makes a gesture above the head. — I shall stay on the boat. We will now call to frontier guards, to Economical Crimes Department and Office of Public Prosecutor.
Everyone on the trawler is in some confusion. Noticeably some confusion presents. Probably we have surprised the team in the very heat of work. Nobody obviously expected OMON to occur onboard, and especially, a person with a camera. Some people hide the faces. Crab traps are moved aboard. Crab is sorted ready at hand there and put in baskets. The filled baskets are sent to holds, to special tanks. Someone prepares killers for traps.
— Everybody finishes work now, — one of OMON fighters orders.
Another one rises on the command bridge and examines documents. The complete set of vessel’s documents is given to Pererva. We counted up, that in the hold there is already about 1600 caught Kamchatka crabs and about 400 of hair crabs. Work is stopped. Traps are collected by accurate lines on the forage.
— Nothing remains now but waits until representatives of
We were waiting for about three hours. A military boat came from Vladivostok. The second group of people embarks aboard the trawler. We pass again to the motor boat to Pererva. He is talking to a man civilian clothes who has come with the second group and we head for the cordon, to “Rescue” bay. All of us are happy with the work done. It’s raining again. But this time it does not influence the mood.
— Tonight we head to Furughelma Island, says Pererva. — This is at the southern site. We have not been there for a long while. We mush be evident and knock them for a loop. After such raids, poachers will not go to the sea for a long time. If you want, you can join us.
— Why at midnight? — I ask.
— Because nobody expects us to appear at night. We will come upon all of a sudden. By the way, such tactics gives its fruits. FESSR holds the third place in Russia by the amount of fines paid. Last year a number of detentions exceeded 100. This means 8–9 detentions per day in general.
Already in twilight we approach “Rescue”. Clothes are wet. Need to change it and have supper. Ahead there is a night hunt in the company of “Flying Dutch”. In an hour, the motor boat of FESSR chief of protection dissolves in the September night sea. Already after our expedition it became known, that that night on a southern site four poacher boats were detained with complete sets of underwater equipment prepared for trepang fishing. This time, it went without shooting. No trepang fell to Chinese.