In short:
Black market fishing costs legal operators billions of dollars globally per year.
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fishing → cost → year
Australian authorities are cracking down on the industry, issuing large fines and crushing boats.
What's next?
Authorities are looking to scale up their surveillance equipment to combat the issue.
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Authorities → crack → issue
He looks like an ordinary angler, but this 43-year-old man is anything but.
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man → look → angler
In the waters between Brisbane and Russell Island, he was caught poaching mud crabs and selling them in south-east Queensland.
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he → catch → Queensland
"Mud crabs can retail anywhere up to $64 a kilo for high-quality, top-grade mud crabs," said Graeme Bolton, director-general of Queensland's Department of Primary Industries.
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Bolton → retail → Industries
"So they're high value, they're easy to transport, and readily sold on the black market.
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they → transport → market
"
Last year, other seafood species such as threadfin salmon, molluscs and mulloway were uncovered at the man's house following a raid by fisheries officers.
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species → uncover → officers
Loading...He was convicted, fined $10,000 and had his boat destroyed.
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boat → convict → 10,000
In 2024, a 46-year-old Gold Coast man was caught hiding crabs in his boat.
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man → catch → boat
After searching his property, officers found more boxes of crabs.
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officers → search → crabs
His boat was also crushed.
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boat → crush → ?
"This is really to send a very clear message that unlawful activity in Queensland will not go unpunished," Mr Bolton told 7.30.
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Bolton → send → 7.30
It includes fishing in protected marine reserves, ignoring catch quotas, using prohibited gear, and international smuggling.
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It → include → gear
These organised activities threaten marine ecosystems and are estimated to cost legal fisheries up to $23 billion annually globally.
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activities → organise → billion
Illegal fishing can also be linked to a variety of other crimes including labour exploitation, human rights abuses and trafficking of illicit goods.
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fishing → link → goods
The domestic illicit seafood trade in Australia involves both recreational and commercial anglers poaching fish and other seafood to sell on the black market.
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anglers → involve → market
It is then funnelled directly into restaurants, markets, and on the street.
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It → funnel → street
"People try to hide fish and crabs underneath floorboards or ... within the boat or cars, [sometimes even] dropping fish and crabs in the bush somewhere,"Mr Bolton said.
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Bolton → try → bush
"Black market activity in particular, erodes that ability for the average Queenslander to go out, catch a fish, and more importantly, for our Queensland commercial fishers to go out and make a living.
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fishers → erode → living
According to the Australian Fisheries Management Authority, 273 people were prosecuted for illegal fishing in WA in 2025, more than triple the number from 2024.
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people → accord → 2024
Due to a jump in illegal activity, fisheries officers have increased their patrols, and in the Northern Territory, 237 foreign fishers were prosecuted in the Darwin Local Court between 2024 and 2025, a sharp increase from 75 prosecutions between 2023 and 2024.
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fishers → increase → 2023
In Queensland, 1,809 reports of illegal fishing were investigated between 2024 and 2025, and 14 matters were prosecuted in the Magistrates Court.
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matters → investigate → Court
In Victoria, 473 fines were issued between 2025 and 2026.
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fines → issue → 2025
1,219 fines were handed out following cuts to enforcement numbers in the financial year.
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fines → hand → year
In 2023, the New South Wales Government recorded 2,900 illegal fishing reports handled by the fisheries department.
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Government → record → department
This year, fisheries recorded 3,767 offences by recreational anglers.
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fisheries → record → anglers
In Tasmania and South Australia numbers have remained quite consistent.
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numbers → remain → Tasmania
NSW seafood raids
7.30 was given exclusive access to a NSW Fisheries operation after officers received intelligence that suspected illegal seafood was being sold in Cabramatta in Sydney's south-west.
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seafood → give → west
Officers measured fish to check if they were undersized and requested receipts for all products, which were provided.
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which → measure → products
One shop that sold household goods also had fridges full of abalone — the highly sought-after and expensive product is a popular black-market item.
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product → sell → abalone
"We had 14 packages of abalone that weren't labelled correctly.
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that → have → abalone
Under the regulations, there's specifications on what needs to be on the label," said Fisheries officer Dan McGarrity.
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McGarrity → be → label
The shop owner produced receipts to prove that the product was purchased legally, but authorities are continuing to investigate.
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authorities → produce → receipts
The seized abalone is worth around $4,000.
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abalone → seize → ?
If officers can prove the abalone was caught and sold illegally, the owner could face prison time.
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owner → prove → time
"We want people to know that they can't get away with this behaviour in NSW," state Minister for Agriculture Tara Moriarty said.
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Moriarty → want → Agriculture
"We're serious about increasing the fines ... and making sure that fisheries officers have more powers.
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officers → increase → powers
Last week, NSW introduced new legislation which includes increased fines of up to $44,000 for people caught engaging in the illicit seafood trade.
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which → introduce → trade
Authorities are also investing in new technology to track offenders, including investing in night vision technology.
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Authorities → invest → technology
'Big money' equals big risks
In 2023, a WA study found around 11.8 per cent of seafood products in Australia were labelled incorrectly.
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cent → equal → Australia
…and 9 more, not listed.
The Aporia
