Inside the crackdown on a $23 billion black market - ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Black market fishing costs legal operators billions of dollars globally per year.

Australian authorities are cracking down on the industry, issuing large fines and crushing boats.

Authorities are looking to scale up their surveillance equipment to combat the issue.

He looks like an ordinary angler, but this 43-year-old man is anything but.

In the waters between Brisbane and Russell Island, he was caught poaching mud crabs and selling them in south-east 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. 

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.

He was convicted, fined $10,000 and had his boat destroyed.

In 2024, a 46-year-old Gold Coast man was caught hiding crabs in his boat.

After searching his property, officers found more boxes of crabs.

"This is really to send a very clear message that unlawful activity in Queensland will not go unpunished," Mr Bolton told 7.30. 

Illegal fishing is a widespread environmental and transnational crime. It includes fishing in protected marine reserves, ignoring catch quotas, using prohibited gear, and international smuggling. 

These organised activities threaten marine ecosystems and are estimated to cost legal fisheries up to $23 billion annually globally. 

Illegal fishing can also be linked to a variety of other crimes including labour exploitation, human rights abuses and trafficking of illicit 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.

It is then funnelled directly into restaurants, markets, and on the street.

Illegally caught seafood is funnelled directly into restaurants, markets, and on the street.  (ABC News: Kathleen O'Connor)

"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."

Illegal fishing has been an ongoing problem globally, but in Australia, compliance numbers are down, and prosecutions are up.

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.

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. 

An Indonesian fishing crew were found in mangroves in the Northern Territory in 2024.  (Supplied: Northern Land Council)

In Queensland, 1,809 reports of illegal fishing were investigated between 2024 and 2025, and 14 matters were prosecuted in the Magistrates Court.

In Victoria, 473 fines were issued between 2025 and 2026. The year before was more than double. 1,219 fines were handed out following cuts to enforcement numbers in the financial year.

In 2023, the New South Wales Government recorded 2,900 illegal fishing reports handled by the fisheries department. This year, fisheries recorded 3,767 offences by recreational anglers.

In Tasmania and South Australia numbers have remained quite consistent.

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.

Officers measured fish to check if they were undersized and requested receipts for all products, which were provided.

An officer from Fisheries NSW measures fish to check if they are undersized.  (ABC News: Kathleen O'Connor)

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. 

"We had 14 packages of abalone that weren't labelled correctly. Under the regulations, there's specifications on what needs to be on the label," said Fisheries officer Dan McGarrity.

The shop owner produced receipts to prove that the product was purchased legally, but authorities are continuing to investigate.

The seized abalone is worth around $4,000. If officers can prove the abalone was caught and sold illegally, the owner could face prison time. 

The seized abalone is worth around $4,000.  (ABC News: Kathleen O'Connor)

"We want people to know that they can't get away with this behaviour in NSW," state Minister for Agriculture Tara Moriarty said.

"We're serious about increasing the fines ... and making sure that fisheries officers have more 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.

Authorities are also investing in new technology to track offenders, including investing in night vision technology.

NSW Fisheries officers were acting on intelligence that suspected illegal seafood was being sold in south-west Sydney.  (ABC News: Kathleen O'Connor)

In 2023, a WA study found around 11.8 per cent of seafood products in Australia were labelled incorrectly.

Peter Jenkins is a wholesaler from Victoria and says he has lost count of the number of times he has been offered illegal seafood.

He says it's often whiting and snapper, because they're popular fish and fetch strong market prices.

Safe seafood consumer advocate Roy Palmer says incorrect labelling could mean the fish has been illegally caught and may pose serious health risks.

NSW is investing in technology to track offenders.  (ABC News: Kathleen O'Connor)

"That's why we license fishermen," Mr Palmer said.

"We license fishermen because they have to understand how the system works and that they must follow protocols to get the product through to the consumer."

CEO of the Victorian Fisheries Authority Travis Dowling says he has seen people try and sell fish that could result in health risks.

"We've had people in summer illegally take abalone, selling it off the street on 40 degree days in plastic shopping bags," he said.

Watch 7.30, Mondays to Thursdays 7:30pm on ABC iview and ABC TV