Alan Eggleston (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation, Senator Eric Abetz. Will the minister update the Senate on progress in the fight against illegal foreign fishers in our northern waters, and is the minister aware of any alternative policies?

Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I acknowledge that this question comes from a keen champion of the fishing industry in Western Australia and he is ably assisted by his other five Liberal senator colleagues from that state. This government continues to make progress in the battle against illegal foreign fishers in our northern waters. Today two important trials concluded in the Supreme Court in Darwin. In both trials, two separate juries unanimously found the masters of the two Chinese trawlers—the De Yuan Yu 1 and the De Yuan Yu 2apprehended by the Navy earlier this year off Darwin guilty of being inside the Australian fishing zone, with 55 tonnes of fish, without having their fishing gear properly stowed and resisting a Commonwealth official. The two men were sentenced this morning in the Darwin Supreme Court. They were each fined $70,000 in relation to not having their fishing gear properly stowed and they were sentenced to a period of six months imprisonment for resisting a Commonwealth official.

These cases are very important because they firmly send the message to those seeking to steal our fish that we do not have to actually catch them in the act of illegal fishing for charges to be successful. As a result, those thinking about stealing our fish have yet another reason to stay out of our waters, which brings me to comments reported recently in News Ltd newspapers by one Ardani Laduma, a Mr Big of the illegal fishing operations based in Roti in Indonesia.

It is reported that Mr Laduma used to own 59 fishing vessels which operated illegally in Australian waters. I say ‘used to’ because during the past year over half of his fleet—namely, 30 boats—have been seized and destroyed by Australian authorities. Mr Laduma is reported as saying that at that rate of attrition he will soon be out of business. I can tell him that that is exactly our aim. ‘Australian authorities,’ he said, ‘are very professional’. Mr Laduma went on—and I have to be delicate in this—to use an earthy expression, ‘But you only have to increase the sea levels over the side of your boat into Australian waters and you get arrested’. He is right. This year 268 illegal foreign fishing vessels have been seized in our northern waters, almost double the number last year. As the kingpin himself attests, we are starting to hurt the bosses of the illegal fishing trade.

I was asked about alternative policies. Can I simply say that I thought those opposite were supportive of our initiatives. Unfortunately, the barrage of interjections in giving the answer would indicate that they are, unfortunately, not on board as they ought to be. We are starting to win the war against illegal fishing and I commend all those officers, be they Customs, Fisheries or Defence officers, who are assisting in this fight to protect our borders.