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Australian and South African officials boarded a ship suspected of poaching the rare Patagonian toothfish and arrested the crew Wednesday, ending a 20-day chase through Antarctic seas.

The Uruguayan-flagged Viarsa would be escorted on a seven-day trip to Cape Town, from where the crew of about 40 would be flown to Australia to face charges of illegally fishing for the valuable fish, an environment ministry spokeswoman said.

The chase, with vessels dodging icebergs in rough seas, has put the spotlight on organized gangs illegally plundering the fish and earning about $2 million for a shipload of a delicacy prized in Asia and the United States.

Ministry spokeswoman Phindile Makwakwa said the arresting officials had faced stormy weather and treacherous waters -- impediments that have hampered the hunt for the Viarsa since it was spotted in a remote Australian fisheries zone on August 7.

"The arrests were made with six-meter swells and 40 km winds," she told Reuters, added the Uruguayan ship's crew had given up without a struggle after the long chase.

"They were fully co-operative. There was no violence and no injuries," she said.

The South African tug John Ross had come alongside the Viarsa late Tuesday and was joined by the Australian vessel Southern Supporter, but heavy swells had prevented officers boarding the Uruguayan ship until late Wednesday.

The vessels were about 1,800 nautical miles southwest of Cape Town, where they would soon be joined by another South African vessel bringing supplies.

The chase for the Viarsa has highlighted not only the plight of the toothfish -- also known as Chilean sea bass -- but also the declining state of the world's over-exploited fisheries.

Marine conservationists warn that the deep-sea fish could become commercially extinct by 2007 because of illegal fishing.

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