An Indonesian fishing camp has been discovered on Australia’s northern coast, raising concerns that illegal crews were able to come and go undetected.
The piles of litter and skinned sharks were found on Niiwalarra, or Sir Graham Moore Island, off Western Australia’s Kimberley coast, about 2,800 kilometres north of Perth and 1,300km west of Darwin.
Veteran skipper Steve Hinge was shocked to come across the shark carcasses and litter during a visit with his wife in May.
“It was clearly stuff from Indonesia. There were products from Jakarta and rubbish covered in Bahasa Indonesian language,” he says.
“They’d definitely camped there for more than a few days as there’d been fires on the beach, dried fish on the rocks, and structures that had been pulled down.
Mr Hinge reported the find to federal authorities later that month but did not hear anything back.
The Australian Border Force (ABF) did not respond to questions about the camp but said in a statement it was not always possible to confirm activities or actions taken in response to reports it received.
“Through Maritime Border Command, ABF regularly coordinates patrols across the north of Australia, including in locations such as Sir Graham Moore Island,” a spokesperson said.
“We urge members of the community who witness suspicious border-related activity to report it to borderwatch.gov.au.”