Media Release
6 May 2025
Indonesian and Australian Government officials met in Jakarta today to continue to strengthen cooperation towards addressing illegal, unreported or unregulated (IUU) fishing. Indonesia’s Directorate General of Surveillance of Marine and Fisheries Resources (PSDKP) met with the Australian Fisheries Management Authority and the Australian Border Force and Maritime Border Command at the 24th meeting of the Indonesia-Australia Fisheries Surveillance Forum (IAFSF).
IUU Fishing is fishing that does not comply with laws and obligations, and can take a number of forms. One type of IUU fishing currently being experienced by both Australia and Indonesia is through illegal transboundary fishing, where foreign fishermen illegally target another country’s fish resources.
During the IAFSF, attendees shared operational updates on the challenges Indonesia and Australia each face from illegal transboundary fishing and agreed to continue their enforcement cooperation and communication initiatives.
Mr Wez Norris, the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Fisheries Management Authority, said that illegal fishing causes considerable environmental damage. “Illegal fishing damages the marine environment and depletes fish stocks, making it harder for future generations of fishermen who do the right thing,” Mr Norris said. “It is also dangerous, with captains risking the lives of their crew by travelling long distances at sea to illegally fish in another country’s waters,” Mr Norris added.
Commodore Troy Van Tienhoven, Chief of Operations of Maritime Border Command, noted the valuable discussions around sharing enforcement updates. “Combatting illegal fishing is a shared regional challenge which cannot be addressed by any one country alone. The IAFSF provides a critical platform for Australia and Indonesia to closely partner, share information and continue strengthening cooperation on this important issue,” Commodore Van Tienhoven said.
Participants at the meeting noted the considerable work over the past three years that has gone into communication strategies, especially through the undertaking of Public Information Campaigns.
“Through the public information campaigns, jointly led by PSDKP and AFMA, fishing communities from a number of Indonesian provinces including Nusa Tenggara Timur and South-East Sulawesi have been able to meet with fisheries officials from Indonesia and
Australia and to engage in discussions about preventing IUU fishing”, Mr Norris added. “The challenge for us all now is to identify other innovative strategies that can complement the good work of those public information campaigns in order to broaden the messaging about illegal transboundary fishing.”
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