Australian Border Crocs join border wars as Indonesian anglers risk life and limb in illegal cucumber trade

Reports have surfaced in Indonesian media of illicit anglers being ‘pounced on’ by salties while fishing illegally in Australian waters off the Top End, sometimes with fatal consequences.

The Territory’s world famous lethal saltwater crocodiles have become the nation’s last line of defence amid an “unprecedented” spike in illegal fishers risking life and limb in Australian waters.

An Australian Border Force spokesman said 79 suspected illegal fishers had been detained since the ABF launched operations Maritime Protector and Leedstrum on December 1 last year.

The spokesman said 10 seized foreign fishing vessels had been destroyed during that period, with officers seizing 1655kg of sea cucumber and 340kg of fish, including shark and shark fin.

It comes after nine Indonesian fishermen were sentenced in the Darwin Local Court last week, receiving good behaviour bonds and jail terms of up to 90 days after being busted in Australian waters, including within WA’s protected Kimberley Marine Park.

“The FFVs are being detected closer to shore and hiding among the mangroves, with paint schemes of the vessels being changed to assist in their camouflage,” the spokesman said.

An Indonesian fisherman who was rushed to hospital after being bitten by a three-metre saltwater crocodile while reportedly fishing in Australian waters. Picture: Potret NTT

Meanwhile, reports have surfaced in Indonesian media of illicit anglers being “pounced on” by salties in Australian waters off the Top End, sometimes with fatal consequences.

In October last year, Jakarta-based newspaper Kompas reported a fisherman from Papela Village in East Nusa Tenggara province had been “killed by a crocodile in Australian waters”.

The man was “pounced on by a crocodile when along with 14 other fishermen from Papela Village looking for sea cucumbers in Australian waters” on October 29, Rote Ndao Resort Police Chief Mardiono is quoted as saying.

The man’s colleagues managed to drive the crocodile away by spearing it and the ancient predator finally released him but his life could not be saved, Mr Mardiono told Kompas.

“When the body was bathed, there were lacerations caused by crocodile bites on the head, face and right leg,” he said.

“Fishermen who are looking for sea cucumbers already know that the location is where crocodiles live.

“But because there are also many sea cucumber products in that location, fishermen still look for sea cucumbers without thinking about the safety of their lives.”

In September, Javanese daily Pikiran Rakyat reported another man was rushed to hospital by Indonesian police after being attacked by a croc while trepanging “in the border waters of Australia and Indonesia”.

A group of Indonesian fishermen leave the Darwin Local Court after pleading guilty to fishing illegally in Australian waters.

A third man reportedly had a lucky escape after being bitten by a three-metre saltie but “managed to remove the crocodile bite by piercing the crocodile’s eye using the finger of the victim’s left hand”, according to Potret NTT.

Australian maritime border commander Rear Admiral Brett Sonter said any illegal fishers who avoided a grisly death and ended up in the hands of authorities would be prosecuted.

“Illegal foreign fishing in Australian waters is not tolerated and we remain committed to enforcing Australian law through actions including the legislative forfeiture of illegal catch, and the disposal of fishing vessels,” he said.

Charles Darwin University sea cucumber expert Veronica Toral-Granda said trepang was “considered a delicacy in Asian cultures where they also have been given aphrodisiac and medicinal properties”.

“Sea cucumbers have a high dollar value in the Asian market, although currently many of the current fisheries target lesser quality sea cucumbers, they still fetch good value which probably represent the only livelihood for artisanal fishers in developing nations,” Dr Toral-Granda said.