On a stormy day in the wet season, a rapid response helicopter swoops along Australia’s northern coast, scouring mangroves and creeks for a hidden target.
It’s the latest tactic deployed to deal with what authorities are calling an “unprecedented surge” in foreign boats operating illegally in Australian waters.
There is a growing concern about who’s financing the fleets, with authorities confirming they’re investigating possible links to overseas organised crime.
From high in the sky the boats are difficult to spot. The latest photos and video reveal the small, flat vessels deliberately concealed in coastal creeks, painted dark colours and covered with tree branches.
An Indonesian fishing crew was found in mangroves in Arnhem Land, in December 2024. (Supplied: Northern Land Council)
The boats were concealed with foliage. (Supplied: Northern Land Council)
Another Indonesian boat was spotted by a film production company on the Kimberley coast. (Supplied: Wild Pacific Media)
The vessels are difficult to spot from the air. (Supplied: Wild Pacific Media)
“You can see it’s really rugged terrain, with huge tides, crocodiles, sharks, deep mud, high temperatures and humidity,” Australian Border Force supervisor Justin Donaldson says.
“So it’s a really challenging area to operate in.”
In recent months, the federal government has increased resourcing to try to intercept the boats, creating a cat-and-mouse game stretching across tens of thousands of kilometres of coastline.
A handful of vessels have delivered groups of asylum seekers and economic migrants to shore, but the majority are fishing boats from Indonesia.
In surreal scenes — perhaps out-of-sight, out-of-mind for most Australians — Aboriginal rangers and local tourism operators have found Chinese men wandering down bush tracks, and Indonesian fishermen waving from scenic beaches.
It’s proving a high-stakes issue in the lead-up to the federal election, intersecting policies around environment, national security, and foreign relations.
There’s a real concern for the welfare of impoverished young fishermen — some of whom are dying in Australian waters in their desperation for a lucrative catch.
“It would be fair to consider this a wicked problem — there’s no one easy solution,” researcher Natasha Stacey says.
She believes there’s a growing view that Australia needs to move beyond a “stop the boats” approach to tackle the inexorable supply and demand factors driving the trade.
“It’s going to be near-impossible to stop all of the illegal Indonesian fishing in Australian waters, as we have some of the best managed fisheries in the world — that’s always going to be very tempting to fishers on the other side of the border to access,” she says.
“So I think it’s really time we try something new.”
A long history of Indonesian fishing crews
People from South-East Asia have had a presence on the northern coast of what’s now called Australia for hundreds of years, with Makassan crews setting up camp long before British settlement.
It wasn’t until the 1970s and 80s that the current maritime boundaries were established. The number of boats has fluctuated in the decades since, but they have never stopped entirely.
The Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) describes the current influx of boats as unprecedented.
“I think it’s correct to say it’s unprecedented — since 2023 the numbers have been very high,” AFMA’s general manager of fisheries, Justin Bathurst, says.
“The factor driving the overall increase is financial.
“There is an economic and a safety risk involved with illegal fishing, but unfortunately what we’re seeing is that the financial benefits outweigh that risk — that’s the feedback we’ve received from the Indonesian fishermen.”
According to the Indonesian government, around half of the crews are travelling from south-east Sulawesi.
Men from coastal villages continue to fish in local waters, but with fish stocks depleted and the reef stripped of sea cucumber, an increasing number are venturing further south into Australian waters.
Is organised crime involved?
Attention is now turning to who is financing the fleet of boats.
Coastal residents like Peter Tucker believe the illegal trade has become more organised than opportunistic.
He runs fishing charters from a camp on the remote Kimberley coast, and in recent months has been helping guide patrol boats to where the fishers are hiding.
“Over the past year the number of boats has gone through the roof, and what’s stood out is how relaxed and brazen the fishermen are,” he says.
“If this was happening on the east coast of Australia there’d be a national outcry.
“And with the number of boats at the moment, I don’t think they’re coming down to take a feed home — I believe they’re supplying a major commercial chain feeding into greater Asia.”
AFMA has confirmed it’s working with Australian Federal Police on the ground to investigate.
“A number of the illegal fishing [vessels] we see are funded, whether that’s through organised crime or through other means,” Mr Bathurst says.
“These aren’t necessarily small fishing ventures with an owner-operator.
“We’re keen to understand where that financing has come from so we can look at addressing the issue at its root, and that’s part of the conversation we’re having with Indonesian authorities as well.”
The government response is three-pronged:
- Boat, aircraft and land surveillance to locate boats before they get close to the mainland;
- An enforcement model to destroy boats, fishing equipment and illegal catch, and prosecute the fishers involved; and
- Education programs in Indonesia to deter crews from venturing into Australian waters.
More than 100 fishers have been arrested and prosecuted in the past year, and court hearings have revealed the impoverished backgrounds of the mainly young men involved.
Most have had limited schooling, are supporting families, and some will return home after serving jail time in Australia with thousands of dollars in debt, having to repay boats burned at sea by Australian authorities.
In one recent hearing, a lawyer for some of the fishermen summarised their situation.
“We would submit that these men have been driven here by poverty, and come ultimately seeking some money to have a better life. They have virtually no means of paying a fine,” the lawyer told the court.
“These are rather unsophisticated operations, with no fridges on board, no high-tech GPS system, rather the men were relying on a compass and phone to navigate.”
The magistrate acknowledged the difficulty in applying penalties, saying that: “While the court does not want to sentence Indonesian fishermen to prison … you must know that if you come back the penalties will be higher and harsher.”
So what is it going to take to tip the decision-making against illegally approaching the Australian continent?
Looking for long-term solutions
Natasha Stacey is a social scientist who’s been researching Indonesian fishing communities for two decades.
She says the current laws and boundaries need to be reassessed.
“One of the problems with the 1974 [memorandum of understanding] and its amendments is that it’s essentially out of date,” she explains.
“So over the past 30 years, academics and commentators have called for the Australian and Indonesian governments to come together and reconsider the arrangements.”
The current laws permit Indonesian crews to undertake “traditional” fishing in a 20,000-square-kilometre area along the maritime border.
However, most fishermen now use motorised boats that are prohibited, making the so-called MOU box largely redundant.
Professor Stacey says Australia has failed to honour its commitment to providing some support to communities that lost access to waters they’d been fishing for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.
“We really have seen very little community development, so there’s potentially an opportunity there,” she says.
“What would happen if Australia and Indonesia were able to work together with selected fishing communities over a five to 10-year period, and implement some development activities that could … reduce their involvement in illegal activity over time?
“We could also look at some opportunities to license some of the fishers with an established historic interest, to provide them with some sort of quota.”
Governments at odds over long-term plans
There’s confusion over what long-term plans are being prioritised by the Australian and Indonesian governments.
In a recent statement, Indonesia’s Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries said it was working with the Australian government to develop “alternative livelihood program[s] for Indonesia fishermen that will be tailored to the needs and geographical conditions of each region”.
However, the Australian Border Force, which has signed a series of recent agreements with Indonesia in relation to illegal fishing, would not confirm this statement.
The recent surge in boats is due to be discussed this month when an Indonesian delegation visits Darwin for the 24th Indonesia-Australia Fisheries Surveillance Forum.
Professor Stacey warns that a hardline, punitive approach could backfire.
“There’s evidence … that once communities get into severe economic trouble, then it can actually promote further illegal activity,” she says.
“I think we’ve seen this in past decades, when illegal fishing was shut down by large-scale apprehensions and prosecutions, and more fishers turned to carrying asylum seekers.
“So I think we need to be careful weighing up the impact on fishing communities and livelihoods in Indonesia, versus the need to protect our sovereignty and marine resources.”
‘We’re here for life’
It’s a thorny problem, and the laws of supply and demand driving the illegal trade feel as intractable as the tides.
Locals like Dambimangari man Adrian Lane know this coast better than anyone, and feel the current wave of boats is not sustainable.
“Their boats seem to be more sophisticated, and they’ve got better at concealing themselves, by colouring the boats to blend in with the mangroves,” he says.
“It’s hard to know for sure, but it seems like a more organised operation that someone is funding.
“But it’s not just about the fishermen — the lack of information and transparency from the Australian authorities is concerning as well.
“I don’t know why they’re not involving Aboriginal rangers and locals more — for them it’s a job, but we’re here for life, so we’re keen to find solutions.”
Border Force won’t say how much it costs to keep the $20 million aircraft on stand-by, nor how many times it’s been used in its primary “rapid response” capacity since it was contracted in September.
But supervisor Justin Donaldson believes the current boost in resources is helping minimise the number of boats entering Australian waters, and the environmental damage being done.
“I’m confident that our increased patrol schedules and out additional officers are reducing making a difference, and we are here for the long haul,” he says.
