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Australia has released a Uruguayan government official who was on board a trawler seized on suspicion of poaching the rare Patagonian Toothfish from Australian waters to avoid any escalation in a diplomatic row.

Fisheries Minister Ian Macdonald said Australia had finally agreed to a request from Uruguay to release the scientific observer from the Uruguayan-flagged Viarsa that was caught after a dramatic 21-day high seas chase.

But the official was only allowed to leave the Viarsa, which is being escorted back to Australia to face possible charges of illegal fishing, on the condition an Australian official accompany him to Montevideo and sit in on questioning there.

"The Australian government has received written assurances from the Uruguayan foreign minister that the observer will be available in Australia to assist with investigations and would cooperate fully with Australian authorities," Macdonald said in a statement released late on Thursday.

The Viarsa was seized 16 days ago in the Southern Ocean, stormed by armed South African and Australian fisheries officers, after a 3,900-nautical mile chase dodging icebergs and battered by 33 foot waves in freezing, Antarctic seas.

The scientific observer was on board to monitor the trawler's activities and Australia did not want to release him while investigations were underway, sparking protests from Uruguay.

Australian customs officials say the boat was carrying 85 tonnes of the rare and protected Patagonian Toothfish, also known as Chilean sea bass, which is a highly desired and costly delicacy, particularly in Asia and the United States.

Dubbed "white gold" by fishermen, one shipload of the fish, which can grow to 7 feet long and weigh 220 pounds, can be worth about $3.3 million.

The Viarsa is due to dock in Australia early next month where its 40-member crew could face prosecution for illegal fishing, which carries fines of up to $362,000, and for fleeing Australian authorities, which could lead to a year in jail.

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