High-value marine species in waters off northern Australia are at increasing risk of poaching by foreign fishing crews, according to figures from the Australian Fisheries Management Authority. The number of foreign fishing boats caught in Australian waters increased from six in 2014-15 to 20 in 2015-16. These fishers have evidently come to poach species that fetch high prices and have been overfished elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific region. They seek "lootable resources" - species that are attractive to the black market because they are expensive, easy to catch and weakly regulated.
History
Citation
Purcell, S. W. & Eriksson, H. B. (2016). How to tackle the rising tide of poaching in Australia's tropical seas. The Conversation, December 23 1-4.