New Treaty to Strengthen the Fight Against Illegal Fishing

Australia is to bolster its cooperation with France to further protect and manage valuable fisheries resources in the Southern Ocean.

This is another step in the global fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, to which the Australian Government has committed $217.2 million over five years.

Mr Peter McGauran, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, and his French counterpart, M. Dominique Bussereau, Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries, today verified and initialled the text of a cooperative treaty on enforcement of fisheries laws between the governments of Australia and France.

The treaty formalises cooperative enforcement action against IUU fishing vessels undertaken by joint patrols of the French and Australian Southern Ocean exclusive economic zones and territorial seas.

This Cooperative Fisheries Enforcement Treaty builds on the Australia-France Surveillance Treaty that entered into force on 1 February 2005.

Most French patrols now have Australian fisheries and Customs officers on board and French officials are embarked on the Australian patrol vessel, Oceanic Viking.

Under this new complementary agreement, cooperative enforcement action can occur. For example, the agreement will allow Australian officers on a French patrol vessel to apprehend an alleged illegal fishing vessel in the Heard Island and McDonald Islands exclusive economic zone or territorial sea.

Australia will now move to sign the treaty as quickly as possible. The Government looks forward to bringing the treaty into force and continuing our productive cooperative maritime activities. Our combined efforts on the water are proving a very powerful deterrent to IUU fishing.

Inquiries: Mr Downer's office 02 62777 500 - Senator Ellison's office 02 6277 7260 - Mr McGauran's office 02 6277 7520