Six Indonesian illegal fishers faced Darwin Local Court in Australia this week where they pleaded guilty to offenses of attempting to steal a haul of trochus shell (sea snail), the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) said.
The crew received a range of immediate jail sentences and fines. The master incurred a AUD 6,000 (€4,000/$4,474) fine and two repeat offenders received the harshest consequences of immediate jail time along with fines of AUD 3,500 (€2,333/$2,610) each. The other three crew received fines of AUD 2,000 (€1,333/$1,491).
The vessel was destroyed at sea after being apprehended on April 27 in Australian waters near Browse Island in the Timor Sea by Maritime Border Command (MBC), a multi-agency task force within the Australian Border Force (ABF), and AFMA.
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