Illegal Fishing

A proposed shake-up of Victoria's fisheries department will result in a significant rise in maritime crime and negatively affect the environment, according to a former officer.

Numbers of eastern blue groper have halved in shallow waters around the Sydney coast since 2008, but are stronger in deeper water a new study has found.

The federal government and Border Force say more resources are being devoted to stop illegal boat arrivals off the Northern Territory coast, after an "unprecedented" increase in the past six months.

Commercial abalone fishermen in NSW say they are fighting a "war" against illegal fishing and some want out of the industry due to depleting stock.

The Australian Border Force has intercepted three foreign fishing vessels and arrested 18 crew members in the latest illegal fishing boat incursion into northern waters.

Officials are investigating whether organised crime is behind a wave of illegal foreign fishing boats in Australian waters, which locals say are more sophisticated than ever before.

People from south-east Asia have been fishing WA waters for centuries, but the enforcement of maritime borders in the 1970s has rendered that practice illegal.

The Australian Border Force seized a record 3.2 tonnes of sea cucumber from a single vessel on Wednesday. It marks the second large seizure of sea cucumber in NT waters in recent days.

The Australian Border Force seized 500 kilograms of sea cucumbers and 1,000 kilograms of salt over the weekend as part of a crackdown on illegal fishing in the Northern Territory

More than 2,000 illegal foreign fishing boats have been picked up in Australian waters over the past decade, but the boats keep coming.

A multi-agency border operation has been launched in the Northern Territory to target a rise in illegal fishing and people smuggling through Arnhem Land waters.

Indigenous residents in West Arnhem Land have found eight suspected asylum seekers on the remote Cobourg Peninsula. It comes after a string of discoveries of foreign vessels in the area.

Remote rangers say they spotted two more illegal foreign vessels off Arnhem Land last week, including one that appeared to be carrying asylum seekers. 

An Indigenous ranger group that rescued four asylum seekers on a remote island off the Northern Territory coast last week is calling for the federal government to guarantee their safety.

Australia's largest supplier of Sydney rock oysters is one of two producers targeted by thieves.

The Northern Land Council says the four men landed on Australia's northern coastline on Monday.

Lyndon Krollig was sailing along Scott Reef when he says he spotted five illegal fishing boats near Scott Reef earlier this month.

Lyndon Krollig says he was told there were no patrol vessels available to check out his sighting of illegal fishers despite claims border force had ramped up its enforcement.

Traditional owners on one of Australia's most northern islands say they are seeing an increase in illegal fishing.

Hundreds of marron have been illegally taken from Western Australia's waterways in the past year, prompting calls for higher penalties for those doing the wrong thing.