Charter guide spots foreign fishing boat, crew detained

Australian Border Force (ABF) has seized a suspected foreign fishing boat off Queensland's northern tip and detained its crew.Albany Island Fishing Tours owner Dave Hartwell said he reported the boat to ABF after one of the company's guides spotted it on Little Adolphus Island, in the southern Torres Strait, late last week.Mr Hartwell said the guide saw "about seven" people on board walking around the boat."He sort of offered… [asked] if they needed any immediate assistance, asked if they needed water," Mr Hartwell said."He was a bit shocked, actually, rang me so we could report it straight away."The phone service is pretty dodgy out there."In a statement on Tuesday, Border Force said it found the boat and crew near Little Adolphus Island on Friday after reports from the community.A fishing boat was seized near Little Adolphus Island in the Torres Strait on Friday. (Supplied: Australian Border Force)Its officers boarded the boat and identified evidence of suspected illegal fishing, including fishing equipment and 700 kilograms of salt used to preserve catch.Border Force said the boat was "located before any marine life was caught".It said the crew would be taken to Darwin for further investigation by the Australian Fisheries Management Authority, for suspected offences against the Torres Strait Fisheries Act 1984.Border Force said it was working with partner agencies "to determine the appropriate management" of the boat.So far this year, 14 of the 24 suspected illegal foreign fishing boats caught in Far North Queensland waters have been destroyed, Border Force said.Boats make locals anxiousMr Hartwell said the boat was spotted about seven nautical miles north-east of Pajinka, the tip of Cape York Peninsula."It was an incredibly fast response [from Border Force] … it would be nice if no boats came in.""It wasn't a very big boat, maybe 30 foot long or 35."Mr Hartwell said he had seen an increased Border Force presence in the Torres Strait since a dedicated operation was launched in February in response to an influx of illegal fishing boats in the Torres Strait.An Australian Border Force vessel arrived to the island where the foreign boat had been spotted. (Supplied: Dave Hartwell)"I don't know what they can do to help but maybe a bit more in the air, or maybe some intel from [Indonesia]… find out where they are coming from," he said.Mr Hartwell said those living in the isolated communities around the remote islands were anxious about the boats because "you just don't know what they're all about".In late June, a boat carrying foreign nationals made landfall north of Weipa, on western Cape York Peninsula, which led to two men being charged with people smuggling."We're a long way from any police, emergency response or anything if we're in trouble," Mr Hartwell said."It would probably take at [the] very minimum, a helicopter or boat an hour to get here if we were in strife."Maritime Border Command deputy commander Natasha O'Farrell thanked the community members who reported the boat.An Albany Island fishing charter company spotted the boat sinking in the water. (Supplied: Dave Hartwell)"Communities across the Torres Strait are vital eyes and ears and one part of a layered approach that includes aerial surveillance, patrol vessels, land patrols and intelligence operations," she said."Illegal fishing activity can fluctuate, but our resolve does not."If you enter Australian waters to fish illegally, you risk losing your catch, your equipment and your vessel, and you may face prosecution."