Australian Border Force intercepts 14 fishing boats in five days, seizing catches and gear

Border and fisheries officials in Australia have boarded and seized catches from 14 Indonesian fishing boats in just four days.

The Australian Border Force (ABF) says there were 113 crew aboard all of the boats which were caught in northern Australian waters.

The operation was carried out by ABF and Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) officers from November 14-18.

The ABF says officers seized catches and fishing equipment including:

• 550 kilograms of sea cucumber (worth up to $55,000);
• 200kg of fish (dried and fresh);
• 2500kg of salt (to preserve the catch);
• equipment such as air compressors and regulators, hand lines, reef shoes, long lines and hand lines, spear guns, fishing nets, and other equipment.

   

The ABF believes a combination of arrests, boat destructions and confiscation of expensive equipment is serving as a strong deterrent against future poaching.

In July and August, AFMA and Indonesia’s Directorate-General of Surveillance and Control of Marine and Fishery Resources ran two workshops for fishing villages in Oesapa and Papela, East Nusa Tenggara province.

The AFMA said more than 300 fishermen attended the workshops, which are designed to educate participants on the risks involved with illegal fishing operations.

The aim of the workshops was to prevent fishermen fishing illegally; topics included Australian and Indonesian maritime boundaries, the importance of sustainably managed fisheries, the risk to lives and legal consequences.

The AFMA says there has been a recent, and notable, increase in Indonesian fishing vessels caught in Australia’s fishing zone.

It says the causes are social and economic as well as high prices for sea cucumber (trepang) and shark fin.