A Russian trawler detained over fishing violations in Norway's commercial waters last Sunday will be released on Thursday, the Russian consulate general in Kirkenes said according to RIA Novosti.
Norway's coastguard detained the Tynda on Sunday on suspicion of illegally fishing in its waters. The Norwegian waters have been closed for fishing since October 15. The captain of the ship, which had a crew of 55, was reported to have caught 170 metric tons of herring in the area.
A consulate official said the 170 tons of herring would be left in Tromse, Norway, according to an agreement with the country. He said the trawler captain had admitted fishing in a prohibited zone, but could not confirm if he would have to pay a fine.
Russia and Norway have been involved in a decades-long dispute over maritime boundaries in the Barents Sea, which is rich in oil and gas reserves, as well as fishing resources.
Although some progress has been made in the dispute, detentions of Russian fishing ships have been frequent in recent years.
The incident brought back memories of an October 2005 incident, when Norway pursued a Russian vessel with two Norwegian inspectors on board across the Barents Sea for five days. The inspectors had been stranded on the Russian ship after trying to detain it for illegal fishing.