Maritime Border Command (MBC), a multi-agency task force within the Australian Border Force (ABF) working in cooperation with the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) and the Australian Defence Force, apprehended a foreign fishing vessel on 22 November 2016 suspected of illegally fishing in Australian waters.
Indonesia fishing vessel apprehended 150 nautical miles off Darwin.
The Indonesian fishing vessel was detected near Croker Island, approximately 150 nautical miles north-east of Darwin during an MBC surveillance flight.
HMAS Albany intercepted the vessel and conducted an at-sea boarding and inspection. During inspection of the vessel, officers located a small quantity of shark fin, shark fillets, shark teeth, and 15 kilograms of shark skin. The vessel and 5 crew members will be brought into Darwin today (23 November 2016), where further investigations will be undertaken by AFMA.
This apprehension is another example of the efforts of Australian Government agencies working together to detect and apprehend vessels illegally fishing in Australian waters.
More information on how Australia is working to combat illegal fishing can be found at afma.gov.au.