The KV Andenes coast guard vessel detained the Proyekt ship immediately after midnight on suspicion of fishing in an area where it is prohibited," Harstad city police said.
The trawler will be in the port of Sortland until all the circumstances of the incident are cleared. Should the fault be proven, the trawler will have to pay a fine or have its haul confiscated.
Yevgeny Kolesnikov, an advisor at the Russian Embassy in Oslo, told RIA Novosti: "In line with the coast guard's version, the vessel was trawling in an area temporarily closed to trawling, it is closed from October to March 20."
He said the trawler's owner is being identified, adding that there has been no official notification from Norwegian authorities of the incident.
This is the third case of the Norwegian authorities detaining a Russian trawler since the start of the year.
Russian fishing agency officials earlier said 95% of ship detentions are successfully contested by Russian companies in Norwegian courts. But a day of detention in a Norwegian port costs Russian fishers $10,000-$12,000.
