The Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) is taking action to clean up rubbish left behind by illegal foreign fishing vessels on Australia's sparsely populated northern coastline.
Material dumped or deliberately cached by foreign fishing crews were the targets of a recent joint operation led by AFMA, in partnership with the Australian Army's North West Mobile Force (NORFORCE) and the Garngi Community Rangers.
Between 29 September and 6 October 2025, the team identified and extracted a range of waste and pollutants from a remote shoreline and nearby estuary, including:
- two stricken foreign fishing vessels, which were successfully removed and destroyed
- 850 litres of diesel
- about seven cubic meters of discarded plastics and waste
- various types of fishing gear and equipment for processing catch.
The coastal clean-up operation, coordinated by AFMA, was launched in response to multiple NORFORCE reports of rubbish and pollution likely to have been discarded or cached by foreign fishers along the coastline and inside mangrove systems.
Foreign fishing vessels continue to be detected in Australia's northern waters, despite increased enforcement efforts by Maritime Border Command, a multi-agency taskforce within Australian Border Force (ABF), and AFMA.
The persistent incursions not only threaten Australian fisheries but also represent a serious risk to Australia's biosecurity and to sensitive marine environments, including protected areas like the Cobourg Marine Park (part of Garig Gunak Barlu National Park).
"The rubbish and pollution left behind by illegal foreign fishing vessels is a growing problem and shows a complete disregard for Australia's pristine coastal areas," said AFMA's General Manager of Fisheries Operations, Justin Bathurst.
For NORFORCE, enabling and supporting other government agencies and building strong connections with remote communities are important aspects of its role in protecting country through enhanced surveillance and intelligence-gathering capabilities in remote areas that are generally inaccessible.
Through its on-country patrols in remote northern areas, the Army unit supports Australia's biosecurity and enables operational whole-of-government responses to any detected illegal foreign incursion, while also protecting Indigenous-owned land and traditional food sources and practices.
AFMA continues to work closely with Maritime Border Command and Community Rangers to investigate alleged illegal fishing in Australian waters and participate in a whole-of-government approach to safeguarding Australia's north.
Australian authorities also work with the Indonesian Government to address illegal fishing at its source, through the delivery of public information campaigns within Indonesian fishing communities, the distribution of educational material, targeted social media campaigns, and proactive engagement with fishers.
