The Bandit 6 was a group of six vessels which were illegally fishing Patagonian toothfish in the Southern Ocean. Actions by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and national governments resulted in all six vessels being detained or sunk. Background Patagonian toothfish and the related Antarctic toothfish are relatives of cod that are sold under the name "Chilean Sea Bass." Illegal fishing vessels like the Bandit 6 do not report their catch, violating the regulations set by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources. They often also use banned, environmentally damaging fishing methods such as gill nets. In November 2014, Sea Shepherd launched Operation Icefish, a campaign against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing in the Southern Ocean. Six vessels in particular had been operating illegally for over ten years; Sea Shepherd dubbed these vessels the "Bandit 6." The six ships were Kunlun, Perlon, Songhua, Thunder, Viking, and Yongding. Four of the ships, Kunlun, Songhua, Viking and Yongding had at one point been owned by Vidal Armadores, a Spanish company associated with toothfish poaching. Operations against the Bandit Six In December 2014, the Sea Shepherd vessels and sailed to the Southern Ocean in search of the Bandit Six. On 17 December the Bob Barker spotted the Thunder and began chasing it. Three of the boats, Kunlun, Songhua and Yongding, were spotted and stopped by the New Zealand Navy patrol vessel . The crews claimed that the three ships were registered in Equatorial Guinea, but the government of Equatorial Guinea said that this was not true. Interpol purple notices were issued out for all three vessels at the request of the New Zealand government. The crews refused to allow their vessels to be boarded, and weather conditions meant that the Wellington could not force a boarding. The Wellington'''s crew gathered information about the vessels and the patrol boat returned to port. On 2 February 2015, the Sam Simon spotted Yongding and Kunlun, and pursued Kunlun for eight days, driving it out of the fishing grounds and collecting nets the Kunlun left behind, which the Sam Simon delivered to Mauritius. In March, the Kunlun arrived at Phuket, Thailand, with 182 tons of toothfish on board, which the crew of the Kunlun tried to offload as grouper; Thai authorities detained the ship. Also in March, the Viking was detained by Malaysia, but was later released after paying $71,500 in fines. Meanwhile,