Australian Border Force Captures 12 Illegal Fishing Boats in a Month

 

The Australian Border Force is pushing back hard on illegal fishing off the country's northern coast, where Indonesian fishermen often trespass to harvest protected species. In the last 30 days alone, ABF officers have seized a dozen vessels and six tonnes of illegally-caught seafood, the agency said Thursday. 

In December, the agency launched a new operation to intercept foreign fishing vessels off the Northern Territories, a long and empty stretch of coastal waters with little local traffic. The new push has been bearing fruit: 12 vessels have been interdicted, including two that were destroyed at sea.

On Saturday, in the latest intercept, ABF officers boarded a suspect vessel off the remote Cobourg Peninsula, a national park at the northern tip of the NT. There were seven crewmembers aboard the boat, along with two tonnes of sea cucumber and fishing equipment. After consulting with the Australian Fisheries Management Authority, the agents returned the catch over the side and released the suspects, directing them to exit Australian waters. 

"With well in excess of 10,000km of NT coastline to protect – vast amounts of which is situated in very remote areas – we are not naive enough to suggest that we can be everywhere at any one time, which is why members of the public are important as extra eyes and ears," Acting Commander Tracie Griffin said. "Everyone can do their part by simply keeping a watchful eye and reporting anything out of the ordinary." 

Local First Nations have reported an increasing number of Indonesian fishermen and maritime migrants along the remote coast of the Northern Territories, including some unprepared arrivals who have had to be rescued. In October, a group of up to 30 unauthorized migrants from four boats were reported - igniting a minor political furor in Australia, where maritime migration is rigorously discouraged. 

"These illegal fishermen have been stealing from our Sea Country and encroaching on our land for a long time now and they have recently stepped up the pace," Northern Land Council chair Matthew Ryan told The Guardian last year. "Now we know for sure that they’re people smuggling as well, which takes it to a whole new level."