AFMA Update: Annual Highlights And Key Achievements

Following a strong 2025, the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) is building on key achievements as we move through 2026.

We delivered many major initiatives in another big year of managing and monitoring Commonwealth fisheries, working against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, actively participating in regional fisheries management organisations and supporting and collaborating with our counterparts in the Asia-Pacific region.

We're proud of the work we do to manage and protect Commonwealth fisheries which sustainably produce hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of high-quality seafood every year for domestic and international markets. These fisheries cover over 8 million km² of water - generally from 3 nautical miles offshore to the limit of the Australian Fishing Zone.

AFMA in action: our operations and engagement

Projects and programs delivered in 2025 are already delivering results, with teams now expanding the work across 2026. As we move through 2026, it's worth reflecting on achievements which continue to shape our work, including:

• conducting 223 domestic boat inspections, 107 Commonwealth port visits and 9 at-sea patrols demonstrating high levels of domestic compliance, with one prosecution concluded, several other matters ongoing and before the court, 3 infringement notices issued and several warnings.
• delivering 13 targeted capacity building activities to support fisheries agencies in Southeast Asia and the Pacific, including 8 training courses in High Seas and Dockside Boarding and Inspection and 5 fisheries operations with Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) member states.
• running workshops to support greater adoption and implementation of the international Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate IUU Fishing, in Viet Nam and Singapore.
• conducting 3 charter vessel deployments under Operation Pristis.
• investigations leading to the prosecution of 298 Indonesian nationals for offences against the Fisheries Management Act 1991(Cth), and one Torres Strait fish receiver for offences against the Torres Strait Fisheries Act 1984 (Cth).
• delivering another round of monitoring, control and surveillance training to fisheries officers from Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Timor-Leste, Thailand, the Philippines, Cambodia, Malaysia and Vietnam.
• facilitating the Torres Strait's most successful fishing season for black teatfish in recent memory, with a record catch of 19.22 tonnes and a record daily catch of 7.3 tonnes.
• delivering a successful public information workshop on the risks of fishing illegally in Australian waters to the fishing community in Saumlaki, Indonesia, in collaboration with Indonesian authorities.
• joining the NSW Police and partners in the 10^th Operation Nasse a major international effort to detect, deter and disrupt IUU fishing on the high seas of the western and central Pacific, with agencies from New Zealand, France, the United States of America, Tonga, Fiji, Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands and the FFA.
• participating Operation JAWLINE ARAFURA, a joint patrol with Maritime Border Command and Indonesia's Directorate General of Surveillance of Marine and Fisheries Resources covering 24,000 square nautical miles of ocean to the north of Australia.
• taking action to clean up rubbish left behind by illegal foreign fishing vessels on Australia's northern coastline, working with the Garngi Community Rangers and the Australian Army's North West Mobile Force (NORFORCE).
• continuing management support for responsible industry-led certifications under the Marine Stewardship Council, highlighting the sustainability of Commonwealth fisheries.
• finalising and gaining AFMA Commission approval to implement the AFMA Climate Risk Framework following trials in 2024 and 2025. Implementation is now underway. The framework ensures we explicitly account for climate related risks in management decisions and adjust measures accordingly.
• beginning the second phase of the Multispecies Harvest Strategy project. This phase is designing a harvest strategy for the Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery (SESSF) that better reflects species interactions within the broader ecosystem and makes trade-offs between management objectives more transparent.
• leading cross agency collaboration to progress a new stock assessment model for Patagonian toothfish in the Heard Island and McDonald Islands Fishery. This updated assessment will strengthen confidence in the fishery's sustainability and is scheduled for presentation at the 2026 CCAMLR meeting.
• participating in the department's review of the Commonwealth Fisheries Harvest Strategy Policy which contributes to a broader recognition that the policy must better account for climate change and other external pressures, particularly for species that are not recovering.
• completing electronic monitoring (EM) trials across several Commonwealth fisheries. The AFMA Commission approved expanding EM across the Great Australian Bight Trawl sector, the Commonwealth Trawl sector, the North West Slope sector, the Western Deepwater Trawl Fishery and the Northern Prawn Fishery, with EM to become mandatory in these fisheries between 1 July 2026 and 1 April 2027.
• bringing EM review work in-house to improve data quality, strengthen security, streamline processes and support future growth. This approach allows faster improvements, flexibility to use any review technology, including AI when ready, and reduces long-term costs.
• strengthening seabird mitigation measures in higher risk southern areas as more longline vessels fish further south for Southern Bluefin Tuna. These improvements, along with strong mitigation across other fisheries, position us well for upcoming discussions with DCCEEW on updates to the Threat Abatement Plans
• deploying AFMA observers at sea for a total of 1,765 days.
• getting our Portfolio Charging Review underway. AFMA is expecting to see a final report in quarter four of FY 2025-26 and this will shape next steps with respect of AFMA's funding and charging structure.
• continual modernisation and improvement to our corporate systems and processes including payroll transition, risk management, financial planning and reporting and information technology.