For three weeks they were tracked by fishing authorities, through icy seas and gale force winds, more than two thousand miles from Cape Town.
Alex Thomson reports on an extraordinary journey and an extremely desirable fish.
They call it white gold - the prized meat of the Patagonian Toothfish, aka Chilean Seabass, aka Californian Seabass.
Left to themselves they can grow to seven feet, 200 pounds - and speaking of pounds -- the meat's worth £22 pounds per kilo, so few people are leaving these fish to themselves, they could be commercially extinct in 4 years time.
This long-lining fishing -- quite legal in this case -- is also depleting five albatross species as well as toothfish, attracted and drowned by the thousands of baited hooks.
But fill the fishholds of a vessel with toothfish and you've got several million quid in the bank -- high risk - high reward.
Last night, the risk ended for the Uruguayan ship Viarsa, roughly halfway between Africa and South America.
Armed Australian and South African customs officers board her arresting the captain 40-strong crew -- mostly Spanish and Uruguayans.
The fine could be around £200,000 and a year in prison. Australia says she'll track down illegal fishermen to the ends of the earth -- and for the past three weeks she did just that.
The alert first came on August 7th that Viarsa was poaching close to the remote Heard Island - one of Australias far-flung fisheries, close to Antarctica.
Over in Fremantle, Australia, the Southern Supporter customs vessels cast off and gave chase.
For the next twenty days, Viarsa deliberately steered south into the pack ice to try and throw off her pursuers -- at one point the Australians had to radio advice to her to prevent her getting stuck.
British and South Africa vessels gave chase- the French offered to help -- she was finally boarded after 4,300 miles.
Now comes the long voyage back to South Africa under escort ... thence to Australia where prosecution is certain.
This wasn't the first transoceanic chase for toothfish poachers -- nor will it be the last.
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