Australian Border Force seize illegal fishing boat carrying 3.2 tonnes of sea cucumber

A whopping 3.2 tonnes of sea cucumber has been seized on an illegal fishing vessel, with its 11-man crew arrested and set to face court.

Illegal fishermen forced to throw their 3.2 tonnes of sea cucumber back into the sea. Picture: Supplied.

A record-breaking 3.2 tonnes of sea cucumber has been found aboard an illegal fishing vessel, with its 11-man crew arrested and set to face court.

Authorities from patrol boat ABFC Cape Leveque found the whopping catch, along with 150 kg of salt, after intercepting an Indonesian vessel off Croker Island on Wednesday.

Dredging equipment, used to drag over reefs and the seabed to collect sea cucumber, was also found aboard the vessel.

Operation Lunar acting commander Tracie Griffin told the media the haul was unprecedented.

“This is the largest seizure of sea cucumber ever by ABF from one of our fishing vessels.”

A still showing part of the 3.2 tonnes of sea cucumber found aboard an illegal fishing boat this week. Picture: Supplied.

Ms Griffin said a “number a factors” had contributed to the recent spike in illegal fishing.

“(That) includes the depletion of fish stocks in traditional fishing grounds closer to Indonesia, the current favourable weather conditions and growth in market and demand for fish species such as sea cucumber from our Australia waters.”

Operation Lunar acting commander Tracie Griffin confirmed the vessel would be destroyed. Picture: Harry Brill.

Ms Griffin confirmed authorities would destroy the vessel while the crew were expected to face Darwin Local Court in the coming weeks.

A total of five illegal fishing vessels have been intercepted by authorities since Operation Lunar was launched earlier this month.

The crew of the first vessel caught, intercepted on December 9, were sentenced on Tuesday at Darwin Local Court.

The court heard the crew of seven, who were also searching for sea cucumbers, were motivated by their “poverty”.

The court also heard the master of the vessel was a repeat offender, having been caught by authorities in 2017.

Two crews of illegal fishermen appeared in Darwin Local Court earlier this week. Picture: Harry Brill.

All seven members were convicted of using a foreign boat to fish in a Territorial sea.

On Wednesday morning, a separate crew of nine men were also convicted of the same offence at Darwin Local Court.

Asked if some illegal fishers had managed to escape authorities, Ms Griffin said the Territory’s significant coastline posed a challenge.

“(The Territory) coastline is quite vast – over 10,000 kilometers and that includes 887 islands,” she said.

“So it’s a big coastline, so we’re really relying on our First Nations community and our Northern Territory community to report any sightings so that we can be aware of anybody that’s there.”