There have been startling scenes along Australia’s northern coast in recent months, with what’s being described as an "unprecedented surge" of foreign boats. While some have been carrying asylum-seekers, Australian Border Force says most are illegal fishing crews. This practice has been happening for hundreds of years, but now, ahead of the federal election, it’s becoming an awkward intersection of concerns over border security, environmental impact, and the welfare of impoverished fishers, some of whom are dying in Australian waters.
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00:00An overcast morning in Broome, and we're boarding a $20 million helicopter contracted by the
00:09Australian Border Force.
00:11Today, we're going to be heading from Broome North up towards Kulin Island.
00:15We'll conduct some aerial surveillance.
00:17This helicopter will stand by 24-7 for a rapid response for any type of coastal incursion,
00:23especially illegal fishing.
00:24It's the latest tactic to try to stop what authorities are describing as an unprecedented
00:34surge in foreign boats illegally entering Australian waters.
00:38Our area of operation here in the Kimberley is around 423,000 square kilometres, or almost
00:44twice the size of Victoria.
00:45It's a very challenging area to operate in.
00:49Boat interceptions are on track to be the highest on record, with more than 170 in the
00:54last six months alone.
00:56Indonesian crews have been popping up in creeks, camping on islands, and harvesting
01:00marine life that's largely on-sold to China.
01:04In recent months, the federal government's boosted resourcing to try to catch the boats,
01:08creating a cat-and-mouse game across tens of thousands of kilometres of coastline.
01:12You can see here, looking at these dense creek systems, from the air it's actually very difficult
01:18to see what is happening in the water underneath the mangroves, especially when some of the
01:23fishermen seem to be cutting down vegetation and painting their boats different colours
01:28to really try and disguise themselves.
01:31People from South East Asia have been fishing this coastline for hundreds of years, and
01:35it was only in the 1970s and 80s that the current maritime borders were finalised.
01:41Since then, the number of Indonesian boats has fluctuated, but surged in the last couple
01:45of years, driven by poverty in Indonesia and high demand for products like sea cucumber.
01:51Recent court cases have revealed the impoverished backgrounds of the young men involved.
01:56Most have limited education, and local fishing stocks are largely depleted.
02:00This is atypical scene of the Kimberley Coast, Indonesians are fishing.
02:06Peter Tucker runs a tourism business on the remote Kimberley Coast, and was last year
02:10shocked to discover this crew gathering fresh water nearby.
02:14You have to understand the amount of boats that are now on this coastline.
02:17It is being saturated, absolutely.
02:20And I know if this was happening on the east coast of Australia, it would be a national outcry.
02:28He believes the current volume of boats suggests that the trade has become more organised than opportunistic.
02:33They're not coming down to take a feed home, they're not coming down to just make a few bucks.
02:40They're coming down to supply a major commercial chain.
02:46That's exactly what federal authorities are now investigating.
02:49The Australian Fisheries Management Authority has staff running deterrence programs in Indonesian villages.
02:55So we will go into communities and deliver information about Australian law and maritime boundaries, educating them on the risks.
03:05But the agency's also revealed it's working with Australian Federal Police on the ground.
03:10We certainly are of a view that a number of the illegal fishing ventures that we see are in fact funded.
03:18Whether that's through organised crime or through other means.
03:21And we're keen to understand where that financing has come from, how we can look to address the issue at its root.
03:28Decision height, 100 feet.
03:31Back in the Kimberley, no illegal vessels have been spotted.
03:35And the crew drops in on a coastal camp north of Broome to do some community outreach.
03:40Yeah, I'm confident Aaron that our increased patrol schedules and our additional officers, patrol vehicles
03:45and the addition of this helicopter will make a difference.
03:49But we are here for the long haul.
03:53But locals say it'll be impossible to stop all the boats,
03:57while the gamble still feels worth the risk for Indonesian villages with few other options.