TEMPO.CO, Sydney - Australian authorities detained eight Indonesian fishermen for allegedly conducting illegal fishing in Australian waters.
Australian Border Force inspector Ray Graham said that his organization had been very successful in apprehending fishing vessels attempting to exploit Australian natural resources.
“Protecting the rich biodiversity of Australian waters is a high priority for the Australian Border Force,” Mr. Graham said as quoted by ABC Online on Saturday, April 29, 2017.
The Maritime Border Command (MBC), which works with the ABF and the Australian Fisheries Management Authorities (AFMA), said that the illegal fishermen were apprehended in the Timor Sea early on Thursday last week.
The apprehension was conducted after an MBC surveillance plane spotted an Indonesian boat near Browse Island, about 280 nautical mile north-northeast of Broome in Western Australia. The Australian authorities pursued, caught and destroyed the boat at sea, and its crew were brought to Darwin by the HMAS Barthurst.
The Indonesian fishermen are now detained at the Australian immigration in Darwin with a haul of se snails they caught in Australian waters. They will be investigated by AFMA for alleged breaches of the Fisheries Management Act.
“This is the first time in a decade there has been a seizure of trochus shell (sea snails) from a foreign fishing vessel in Australian waters,” AFMA’s general manager of operations Peter Venslovas said.
Mr. Venslovas added that Since July 1 last year, the three organizations had together caught 15 foreign vessels allegedly fishing illegally in Australian waters.
ABC ONLINE | YON DEMA