AUSTRALIA (14 July 2004) -- THE head of a new review into illegal fishing has "strong suspicions" organised crime is spreading its tentacles into Australia's lucrative commercial fishing industry. Former federal police commissioner Mick Palmer said yesterday there were signs organised crime had a hand in the illegal harvesting of fish and subsequent sales on the black market. His concerns came as NSW Primary Industries Minister Ian Macdonald, who commissioned the Palmer report, raised concerns about the inconsistency of penalties for people caught fishing illegally from state to state. Mr Palmer released his findings yesterday, saying the Australian Crime Commission and its predecessor, the National Crime Authority, had taken steps to examine the role of organised crime in the $500-million-a-year industry. "There are signs of organised crime involvement in certain aspects of high-priced fishing and certainly there are at the very least strong suspicions that there may be other motivations," he said. "My experience tells me that the people involved in organised crime simply go where the opportunity is highest and the profit is greatest, so if today it's fishing, that's where they'll be." But Mr Palmer said his report could not pinpoint a direct connection, and said illegal fishing was often a "cultural problem". Mr Macdonald said he would be looking for NSW to increase its penalties for illegal fishing, a problem that had remained hidden for a long time across Australia. | | "I think there is a very strong case for enhanced penalties in the areas where there is a higher-value fish being illegally taken," he said. NSW commercial fisherman Darren Thomas said his biggest problem was not organised criminals but inconsiderate part-timers. "I'm mainly affected by amateur fishermen. They can't be stuffed about the laws. You see them catching undersized fish - about 200 in a bucket, and you know they won't be cleaning them," said Mr Thomas, who plies his trade catching kingfish, mullet and marlin. Illegal fishing is at its worst in Tasmania, the state that has enacted the toughest penalties. Tasmanians can be hit with a maximum penalty of $200,000, compared with the top penalty in NSW of $11,000 or $8000 in South Australia. The most severe offences involve seafood that fetches the highest price at markets - namely abalone, oysters and lobsters. That market is worth $45 million a year in NSW. "It is an issue we need to tackle," Mr Macdonald said. "It undermines consumers' food safety - there's no trace back. It undermines conservation endeavours in relation to our fisheries. And it also undermines our commercial fishing industries." SOURCE - The Australian |
