Australia nabs 19 RI fishing boats

Australia nabs 19 RI fishing boats

AUSTRALIA: Nineteen Indonesian boats have been impounded in
Australia's latest crackdown on foreign vessels that poach fish
in its northern waters, officials said on Sunday.

Some poachers compound their crime by catching protected
species like dolphins and dugongs and cutting them up for bait,
Queensland Primary Industries Minister Henry Palaszczuk said.

Authorities expected a record catch of illegal boats this
year, with 53 foreign vessels caught so far.

Nineteen Indonesian boats were stopped and their 120 crew
arrested over a four-day period last week.

An Indonesian skipper was jailed last week for a month and
fined A$13,600 (US$8,800). He faced a Cairns court after
authorities found a dead dolphin on his vessel in Queensland's
Gulf of Carpentaria.

Indonesian poachers generally go for sharkfin and sea
cucumber, known in Asia as "trepang". --DPA