Over the last couple of months, serious penalties have been handed down to a number of commercial fishing operators for illegal fishing in Commonwealth Marine Reserves (CMR). These offences have been detected with the use of AFMA’s vessel monitoring system (VMS) and aerial surveillance.
AFMA and Parks Australia work very closely together to monitor areas closed to protect the marine environment. AFMA’s VMS system is used to monitor the movements of all boats fishing Commonwealth concessions, wherever they may be in the world. Similarly, Parks Australia and Border Protection provide a comprehensive aerial surveillance program. Information from these separate monitoring programs is shared on a regular basis between all government agencies involved in management of the maritime domain.
For example, Parks Australia’s CMR alert service was introduced in June 2014 to help Commonwealth commercial fishers know when they are entering a Commonwealth Marine Reserve or zone where they cannot fish. The service uses AFMA VMS and SMS messaging to alert fishers as they cross CMR boundaries. This has proven effective with no enforcement actions being recorded for Commonwealth fishing vessels since its introduction.
AFMA’s General Manager of Operations, Peter Venslovas said that satellite and aerial surveillance were essential to combating illegal fishing activity.
“The recent court judgements demonstrate the effectiveness of these tools to protect the marine environment, and also is a timely reminder to fishing companies about their responsibilities to ensure the actions of their fishing operations are lawful.
For further information about Parks Australia’s recent court cases, see:
Minister for the Environment v Lucky S Fishing Pty Ltd [2015] FCA 10.
Minister for the Environment v Thermal Dell Pty Ltd [2014] FCA 1442.