News and media

Media release from the Australian Border Force

New underwater technology has been successfully deployed across the Torres Strait to combat illegal activity in the region, particularly illegal foreign fishing.

An unlicensed fish receiver operating in the Torres Strait, was convicted in the Thursday Island Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday 13 October 2020, for offences identified in late 2019. The man was found in illegal possession of 41.3 kilograms of processed sea cucumbers (also known as beche de mer) and operating an unlicensed fish receiving operation in the Torres Strait Protected Zone (TSPZ).

Cooperation between the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) and Maritime Border Command (MBC), a joint agency task force enabled by both the Australian Border Force (ABF) and the Australian Defence Force (ADF), has resulted in the removal of environmental hazards from the waters of northern Australia in recent months.

Black and white teatfish are species listed under the Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) Appendix II. The listing took effect on 28 August 2020.  This means that the species can only be exported under a CITES export permit, issued by the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment (the Department) under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). 

The PZJA met on 27 August 2020 and agreed to release the draft Torres Strait Fisheries (Quotas for Tropical Rock Lobster (Kaiar)) Management Plan Amendment 2020 (the Plan Amendment) for public comment.

At its meeting on 27 August 2020, the Protected Zone Joint Authority (PZJA) made a number of decisions in relation to Torres Strait fisheries.

The Australian Fisheries Management Authority’s (AFMA) National Compliance Operations Policy aims to effectively deter illegal fishing Commonwealth fisheries and the Australian Fishing Zone.