The Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) in partnership with the Australian Border Force (ABF) has apprehended an Indonesian fishing vessel suspected of fishing illegally inside Australia’s Fishing Zone (AFZ), approximately 170 nautical miles north of Gove, off Australia’s Northern Territory.
The vessel was sighted inside the AFZ by a Maritime Border Command (MBC) surveillance aircraft. MBC, a multi-agency taskforce within the ABF, responded to AFMA’s request to intercept.
On April 24 2019, MBC tasked HMAS Armidale to respond and the vessel was subsequently boarded and apprehended and under the Maritime Powers Act 2013.
Acting Commander MBC Commodore Malcolm Wise, said officers from HMAS Armidale boarded the fishing vessel and found 14 crew, 800kg of frozen fish, and 20kg of shark fins on board.
‘The ABF, through MBC, maintains a strong, agile presence around Australia’s coastline to detect and respond to, any civil maritime security threats in Australian waters including Illegal Foreign Fishing,’ Commodore Wise said.
‘This apprehension is a testament to our strong on-water and aerial presence protecting Australia’s borders year round.’
The vessel and crew were brought to Darwin by HMAS Maryborough for further investigation by AFMA
‘The fate of the vessel will be determined in due course, which may involve destruction by incineration,’ said AFMA’s General Manager of Fisheries Operations, Peter Venslovas, commenting that the crew are in detention while investigations are conducted to determine whether charges will be laid.
‘This financial year, only three illegal foreign fishing vessels have been found operating in Australian waters, which is significantly down from a decade ago, when more than 350 vessels were apprehended in one year. A combination of on-the-water enforcement, in-country education campaigns, international co-operation and capacity building, has led to the dramatic decline in numbers, but has not removed the risk to Australia’s fisheries – hence the need for ongoing vigilance through avenues such as MBC.’
