The Australian government has announced fines and prison sentences for 11 Indonesian fishers who pled guilty to violating the country’s fishing laws in three separate cases.
“These court outcomes demonstrate the risks of coming to Australia to fish illegally,” Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) General Manager of Fisheries Operations Justin Bathurst said in a statement. “Illegal foreign fishing will not be tolerated, and those responsible stand to lose their catch, fishing gear, vessel, and potentially face jail time.”
The announcement comes amid an increased focus on Indonesian fishers illegally harvesting from Australian waters. The government has prosecuted 69 Indonesian fishers in Darwin Local Court since 1 July 2025. The Australian government said it is working with its Indonesian counterparts to address illegal transboundary fishing with public information campaigns, social media posts, and educational materials.
“Through the public information campaigns, jointly led by [Directorate General of Surveillance of Marine and Fisheries Resources] and AFMA, fishing communities from a number of Indonesian provinces including Nusa Tenggara Timur and Southeast Sulawesi have been able to meet with fisheries officials from Indonesia and Australia and to engage in discussions about preventing IUU fishing,” AFMA Chief Executive Officer Wez Norris said after meeting with Indonesian officials in Jakarta. “The challenge for us all now is to identify other innovative strategies that can complement the good work of those public information campaigns in order to broaden the messaging about illegal transboundary fishing.”
AFMA has also partnered with the Australian Border Force (ABF) to intercept Indonesian fishing vessels that cross into Australian waters.
The latest round of sentencing is a response to three incidents.
One incident, on 19 September, involved Australian forces intercepting an Indonesian fishing vessel, seizing 800 kilograms of sea cucumber, destroying the vessel, and detaining the crew. The crew pled guilty to violating the Fisheries Management Act, and the captain – who had a prior offense – was fined AUD 3,000 (USD 1,962, EUR 1,702) and sentenced to eight weeks in prison. Another crewmember who had a prior offense was also imprisoned for four weeks, while the two other crewmembers were placed on recognizance for three years.
Similar sentences were imposed on Indonesian fishers caught by Australian authorities on 15 September – with AFMA seizing 265 kilograms of sea cucumber and 6 kilograms of crab – and 28 September – with 350 kilograms of sea cucumber seized.
“All fishers will be removed from Australia by ABF and returned to Indonesia after having served their applicable periods of imprisonment,” the government said.
