Government has no real way of knowing if Taiwanese fishing ships invade Bermuda's inner waters, fisheries director Mr. John Barnes admitted yesterday.

Two ships are only being investigated for alleged intrusions because they have apparently admitted doing so, he said.

The Taiwanese ships, working for a Japanese company, are given licences on condition they stay at least 75 miles offshore.

They must also hand fisheries officials details of where they have been and what they have caught.

An investigation is now under way because details from two ships seem to show they have been fishing inside the 75-mile exclusion zone, getting as close as 25 miles offshore.

It has been alleged the ships have pulled in half-a-million dollar catches off the Island.

Mr. Barnes said yesterday the ships' details had been translated from Chinese to Japanese and then to English, and may be incorrect.

"Some of the information that we have suggests that they were fishing in the exclusion zone, but on the other hand it doesn't make a whole lot of sense for someone to admit they're doing something wrong.

"The figures leave a bit to be desired.'' The ships' agents had now been asked to confirm the figures, he said.

"Before any action can be taken the defending side has to have a chance to state their case.'' The log information might mean the ships were just passing through and not necessarily fishing, he said. The captains might even be ignorant of the law, he added.

If the ships are found guilty of violations they could have their licences withdrawn.

Mr. Barnes denied Government had long known of violations by the Taiwanese. He said the 75-mile zone covered 17,000 square miles of ocean and Bermuda had no "realistic'' way of knowing if ships intruded into the area.

Bermudian fishermen only ventured as far out as 40 miles and Bermuda could not afford a gunship or an aircraft.

But he did not suspect the ships had been regularly fishing in inshore waters, because sea temperatures in recent years had been too high for the species they wanted.

The Taiwanese were after albacore -- white meat tuna -- and caught very little wahoo. They did take some yellowfin tuna, but this was in the winter. There was very little hard evidence of interference with charter fishing.

Mr. Barnes said because Bermuda had no high seas fishing vessels, it was required by international law to grant licences to foreign vessels.

"We have been trying to encourage Bermuda flagged vessels to take advantage of what is out there. Then we would be in a situation where we would not have to licence foreign operators.'' But high seas ships were very expensive, he said.

Meanwhile, a fisherman yesterday blasted Government for inaction over illegal fishing.

The man, who asked not to be named, said the Taiwanese ships should be policed with a proper fisheries protection boat.

"These violations don't happen accidentally,'' he said. "Anyone going to sea has to know where he's going at any given time.

"He's fishing there because he knows he can catch fish there.

"These guys have been fishing too close to the Island. Government just don't know how to handle the issue.'' Taiwanese boats had caused shortages for local fishermen, he said.