Foreign fishermen sentenced in Darwin over huge trepang haul

Three foreign fishermen will go behind bars, while the other eight head home to Indonesia after a record haul of sea cucumber was seized last year — with the defence disputing Border Force’s “faulty calculations”. Find out what happened in court.

Eleven Indonesian fishermen accused of harvesting a whopping 3.2 tonnes of trepang in Territory waters — including one man who had been sentenced just five months prior — faced Darwin Local Court on Tuesday.

The men — aged between 18 and 63 years old — all pleaded guilty, acknowledging they had sailed from Sulawesi on an 18m long, six-engine boat to illegally harvest the delicacy known for its aphrodisiac qualities.

The defence described these men as coming from a “life of poverty”, claiming only two of the 11 knew the vessel was headed to Australia.

Also known as ‘sea cucumber’, trepang has been historically traded between Australia’s north coast and Indonesia for centuries. It is considered a delicacy in some East Asian cuisines. Photo: Ebony Battersby

Three men previously caught fishing in Australian waters — captain of the ship, Suradin Mbala, and crew members Lamo and Rinto — were all sentenced to prison, with Rinto having appeared at Darwin Local Court just five months prior in August, 2024.

Mbala and Lamo were allegedly caught together in 2017 while fishing for trochus.

Captain Mbala received a five-month jail sentence, Rinto three months, and Lamo two months.

ABF and the Crown claimed there was a total of 3.2 tonnes of trepang seized. Picture: Australian Border Force

The remaining eight men were released on a good behaviour bond with a $500 fine — they will also be returned to Indonesia.

The proceedings involved a lengthy debate about the actual size of the haul, with the defendant's lawyer, Mr Joshua Begbie, disputing the Crown’s claim that 3.2 tonnes of trepang had been seized by Australian Border Force (ABF).

Part of Mr Begbie’s defence relied on the assertion shipmate Dzaki had counted the number of trepang from memory over four days, landing on a rough estimate of 3,200 pieces in total — a figure Chief Judge Elizabeth Morris described as “highly unlikely”.

The dimensions of this hold were controversial, with the defence exposing a significant error in ABF’s calculations. Picture: Australian Border Force

Mr Begbie also exposed a crucial error in the ABF’s calculation of the ship’s hold, which led to the estimation of 3.2 tonnes of trepang.

Although Mr Begbie conceded his maths “may be wrong”, he and Judge Morris agreed that 2m long, by 2m wide, by 1m deep was 4m³ — not the 6m³ claimed in the Crown’s evidence.

Considering this “faulty calculation”, while also acknowledging the dubious counting method of crew member Dzaki, Judge Morris conceded there was no accurate measurement of the trepang haul, deciding it was “at least” 1.6 tonnes.

This represented half of the 3.2 tonnes ABF operations officer Callum Oakley calculated using his “conservative methods”.

It apparently took the crew three hours to ditch their huge catch. Picture: Australian Border Force

Neither party disputed it was a massive haul of a trepang, with Mr Oakley stating it took three hours for the Indonesian crew to ditch the catch.

If any of the eight men are caught in Australian waters in the next two years, they can expect a jail sentence, Judge Morris said.

“It’s important Australia looks after its fish stocks and the integrity of our ecosystem.”

Originally published as Foreign fishermen sentenced in Darwin over huge trepang haul