Locals outraged as authorities catch 70 illegal fishing vessels off WA’s coast in just three months

Australian authorities are picking up illegal fishing boats off WA’s coast almost every day, new figures reveal. In a major crackdown to protect the nation’s marine life, the Australian Fisheries Management Authority and Maritime Border Command have been working hand-in-hand to catch overseas fishers doing the wrong thing. The West Australian can reveal 70 foreign fishing vessels have been intercepted off the State’s coast in just the past three months. Thirty-six of these were discovered north of the Kimberley region. WA Fishing Industry Council CEO Darryl Hockey said Indonesian boats had been spotted at the Rowley Shoals — a remote coral wonderland 200km west of Broome that is protected from fishing. Ashmore Reef and Scott Reef are also targeted spots by foreign fishers. “They’re beautiful pristine areas of reef and just healthy populations of all sorts of sacred creatures. It’s really sad and dangerous when people come in and upset that balance,” Mr Hockey told The West. “There’s so many more boats getting away. If there are 70 boats that have been caught, there must be a heck of a lot more that aren’t being caught. There must be a huge influx of these boats coming down. “It’s very much on the radar of our industry and I’ve been having talks with some of the fishermen up there over recent times. They’re pleading with me to do something.” Mr Hockey said the industry had seen fishing aggregating devices set up by foreign fishers across the North West, which are man-made floating wooden structures with hanging nets that are used to attract fish. “It’s hard to patrol such a big area in a remote place. However, we need to have a better jurisdictional arrangement between the State and the Commonwealth,” he said. “We can only produce 30 per cent of the seafood that’s consumed in WA — 70 per cent is imported from overseas. “Meanwhile, we’ve got things like this going on where our ability to possibly catch fish sustainably for the local WA community has been impacted because all of these intruders are coming in and taking it away.” An AFMA spokeswoman said illegal fishing in Australian waters would not be tolerated. “Our message to illegal foreign fishers in Australian waters is clear — you will be detected, and we will intercept you,” the spokeswoman said. “You will lose your catch, your equipment and possibly even your vessel.” Sea cucumbers are what overseas fishers are typically found to be catching. There had been 85 illegal fishing boats intercepted in the 2020-21 financial year, with this rising to more than 300 in the following 12 months. “There are various considerations taken into account when determining enforcement action against illegal foreign fishers,” the AFMA spokeswoman said. “Depending on the circumstances, this ranges from educating and warning fishers, seizure of catch and fishing gear (and fishing boat where circumstances permit) and the detention and prosecution of fishers.” Maritime operations in WA are the largest for the Border Force, covering more than 20,000km of coastline — from Christmas Island in the north to Esperance in the south.