Illegal Fishing Challenge at the Australian Coast

Question: Discuss about theIllegal Fishing Challenge at the Australian Coast. Answer: News Article Summary Two Vietnamese fishing boats and their crews have been caught in the Coral Sea marine park allegedly illegally fishing about 300 kilometres off the Queensland coast. By Stefan Armburuster: Available from https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2017/02/17/border-force-seizes-two-vietnamese-blue-boats-fishing-queensland On 17th of February, 2017, while on their joint operations, the ABF and AFMA caught two Vietnamese boats in the Coral Sea marine park. They were caught fishing illegally in the marine park after which the authorities took them to Gladstone in Queensland. The Vietnamese crew was comprised of 29 people and, as reported by the Australian Fisheries Management Authority, they had caught about thirteen tonnes of sea cucumber, a quantity that alarmed the authorities. An investigation for a breach of the Australian fisheries and environmental laws was launched. It is alleged that there has been an increasing number of the Vietnamese boats in the South pacific waters. It was reported that in 2016 alone, the authorities convicted 121 fishermen caught in ten boats with 32,000 tonnes of bche-de-mer. Apparently, there are boats that were seen in Vanuatu at the end of January 2017 but managed to escape. The authorities of New Caledonia, in a joint operation with the Australian authorities, have la unched surveillance. The Australian Fisheries Management Authority's general operations manager, Mr. Venslovas, was reported saying that foreign fishers involved in illegal fishing off the Australian coast will be caught and prosecuted while their boats risk being destroyed. It was reported that eight blue boats were destroyed last year in Cairns and Gladstone while other two sank in the sea after catching fire. Illegal Fishing Challenge at the Australian Coast Introduction Illegal fishing refers to the operation of harvesters and vessels in violation to the fishery laws often under the coastal state jurisdiction. Illegal fishing has been one of the many problems faced by the Australian government at its coast. The government through the Australian Fisheries Management Authority has come up with many approaches to protect the fisheries. For instance, the government monitors the catch of fish and cooperates with other countries to protect the shared fish stocks (Australian Fisheries Management Authority, n.d.a). Furthermore, the government has set rules and regulations and made sure that they are adhered to by both the fishers and the fish buyers. The culprits found acting contra to the rules and regulations are fined on the spot or charged and prosecuted (Australian Fisheries Management Authority, n.d.b). Just recently, two boats were caught illegally fishing about three hundred kilometres off the Australian coast; investigations are underway for breach of Australian Fisheries and Environmental laws (Armbruster, 2017). This paper discusses why illegal fishing at the Australian coast is a problem, which is affected by the illegal fishing, how illegal fishing is detected by the Australian government, the challenges in addressing the problems and strategies that can be utilized to handle the issue. Why is Illegal Fishing at the Australian Coast a Problem? Illegal fishing severely depletes the fish stocks in the Australian waters. One of the effects of illegal fishing is that many times it results to overfishing. When this happens, especially in places where low biological productivity exists; stocks of fish are reduced to alarmingly low levels (WWF Global, n.d). Besides, the high demand for products such as Patagonian toothfish and shark fins which are quite profitable results to continued demand hence overfishing. For instance, eighty-two fish species were assessed in the Australian waters in 2005, seventeen of them were found to have depleted in number. This depletion is as a result of illegal fishing (WWF Global, n.d). Additionally, using equipment that destroy the ocean habitat affect marine functions adversely. A method such as trawling over deep water mountains wipes away sponges that have taken a long time to grow (Winton, n.d). Intensive and extensive illegal fishing lowers the market value of a fish species. Barrett (1998) shares that when illegal fishermen storm a market with their unregulated catches, the prices of fish decline subsequently. Therefore, the fishermen are forced to make more catches so as to make profits. Consequently, the legal fishers working within the conservation measures to protect the species are adversely affected by the economic decline of the fish. Who is affected? To begin with, illegal fishing at the Australian coast affects the legal fishers' trade. As earlier mentioned the illegal fishers enter into a market and consequently, results in a decrease in the market prices of the fish (Crime Museum, 2017). As a result, fishermen have to catch more fish so as to make a profit. This subsequently, results in a decrease of the fish trade (Crime Museum, 2017). Therefore, the legal fishers may become economically distinguished in the long run. In addition, the illegal fishing affects the ordinary Australians who depend mainly on a healthy marine ecosystem (Australian Fisheries Management Authority, n.d.a). Secondly, the marine life is also affected by the illegal fishing. In 1992 the Canadian government suspended the catch of codfish due to its increased overfishing; that had led to the collapse of the fishing industry (Crime Museum, 2017). However, other fish species had relocated to the cod's ecological niche. Thus, the cods population could not increase efficiently. In addition, illegal fishing tends to be less discriminatory as big amounts of young fish are at risk of being caught prior to reproduction (Barrett, 1998). This will, in turn, make it difficult for an increase in stock. How is Illegal Fishing detected? Firstly, illegal fishing is detected through inspections. Fisheries officers carry out an inspection on fishing boats and the ones receiving the fish from the fish boats (Australian Fisheries Management Authority, n.d.a). In addition, the Australian government uses satellites to track all Commonwealth fishing vessels. The technique employs the use of Vessel Monitoring Systems to produce routine positional reports. The reports contain information on the current location of the vessel, the speed, and its course. Immediately the positional reports are received from the Australian Fisheries Management Authority, an automatic display of data occurs as plots on marine charts (Australian Fisheries Management Authority, n.d.b). Secondly, the border protection commands carry out a close watch around the coast of Australia. The customs and border protection patrol are responsible for checking for any foreign boats that are in the Australian waters illegally who report such incidences to the Australian Maritime Security Operations offices through hotlines (Border Protection Command, 2009). Challenges Faced in Addressing Illegal Fishing It is difficult to differentiate between legal and illegal fish. Hidas (2015) states that fish travels over long distances into our plates, but it is quite impossible to distinguish which fish was legally or illegally caught. Therefore, this presents itself as a way of encouraging illegal fishing. Furthermore, Hidas (2015) continues to say that fishing activities that are contra to the international fishing regulations deplete fish stocks. These acts risk the livelihood of the people depending on fish for income or food. The European catch certificate is still paper based. The European Union had introduced certificates as a way of identifying the lawfully caught seafood products (Hidas, 2015). Still, to the digital era, the European Union is using paper-based catch certificates which are prone to fraud. Several thousands of catch certificates are delivered to various border control posts of European Union countries (Hildas, 2015). However, detecting the originality of the catch certificates has been a challenge. Additionally, some European Union countries are less vigilant in the verification of catch certificates (Hildas, 2015). Strategies that can be used to Curb the Illegal Fishing The employment of political and technological will to tackle the problem of illegal fishing. The prospect team (2015), states that the greatest challenge in curbing illegal fishing is gaining sufficient political interest. A political approach will help in solving the challenges of unregulated fishing. Another strategy is to use scientists who can assess the threats and come up with more effective ways of curbing the problems (Prospect team, 2015). Moreover, the introduction of technological interest shall enable countries to share information and vessels hence encouraging transparency. The International Plan of Action can also be utilized. It is aimed at eliminating illegitimate fishing through the use of local and international fisheries management organizations. In addition, the state allows a complete effect of the international law. Conclusion In conclusion, it is evident that illegal fishing has been a menace both in the Australian coast and in the rest of the world countries. The situation is characterized by depletion of the fish stocks, destruction of the marine habitat when destructive fishing vessels are used such trawling, the market value of some fish species is adversely affected. These illegal fishing problems affect the legal fishers, who depend on fish for food and income, and the marine life as well. As a result, the Australian government conducts inspections on the fishers boats and the buyers as well. Plus it uses satellites to track the commonwealth boats in the effort to curb illegal fishing. Hence, the Australian government and even other countries have put in an effort to ensure the illegal fishing is completely dealt with. References Armbruster, S. (2017). Two Vietnamese fishing boats and their crews have been caught in the Coral Sea marine park allegedly illegally fishing about 300 kilometres off the Queensland coast. Retrieved from https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2017/02/17/border-force-seizes-two-vietnamese-blue-boats-fishing-queensland Australian Fisheries Management Authority, (n.da). Combating illegal fishing. Retrieved from https://www.afma.gov.au/monitoring-enforcement/combating-illegal-fishing-2/ Australian Fisheries Management Authority. (N.db). Satellite monitoring of fishing boats. Retrieved from https://www.afma.gov.au/monitoring-enforcement/satellite-monitoring-fishing-boats/ Barrett, M. (1998). Illegal Fishing in Zones Subject to National Jurisdiction. Retrieved from https://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/JCULawRw/1998/1.pdf Border Protection Command. (2009). Illegal foreign fishing. Retrieved from https://www.border.gov.au/Factsheets/Documents/bpc_factsheet_illegalforeignfishing1.pdf Crime Museum, (2017). Illegal Fishing. Retrieved from https://www.crimemuseum.org/crime-library/illegal-fishing/ Hidas, E. (2015). The fight against illegal fishing: The EUs role in a global challenge. Retrieved from https://www.euractiv.com/section/sustainable-dev/opinion/the-fight-against-illegal-fishing-the-eu-s-role-in-a-global-challenge/ Prospect team. (2015). How do we prevent illegal fishing? Retrieved from https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/sponsored/how-do-we-prevent-illegal-fishing Winton, T. (n.d.) Fishing issues. Australian Marine Conservation Society. Retrieved from https://www.marineconservation.org.au/pages/fishing-issues.html WWF Global. (n.d.) Environmental problems in Australia: Issues with no end in sight. Retrieved from https://wwf.panda.org/who_we_are/wwf_offices/australia/environmental_problems_in_australia/