{"id":389445,"date":"2026-04-20T22:40:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T22:40:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/389445\/"},"modified":"2026-04-20T22:40:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T22:40:12","slug":"indonesian-fisher-says-poverty-behind-illegal-fishing-in-australian-waters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/389445\/","title":{"rendered":"Indonesian fisher says poverty behind illegal fishing in Australian waters"},"content":{"rendered":"

Deep inside Darwin’s maximum-security prison, Indonesian fisherman Dora Hamidung recounts the horrors of fatal crocodile attacks and tropical storms on his journeys to Australia.<\/p>\n

He is a repeat offender who has been caught fishing illegally in Australian waters 11 times over 20 years, and now he is serving a four-month jail term.<\/p>\n

Despite the consequences, Dora says poverty has forced him to continue sailing to Australia’s northern waters, in a fragile wooden boat, in search of precious seafood.<\/p>\n

He is one of many Indonesians detained every year for illegal fishing, and wants to tell his story.<\/p>\n

Dora’s story<\/p>\n

Last year, Dora and his crew were caught<\/a> with 40 kilograms of illegally harvested sea cucumber in Rowley Shoals Marine Park off the coast of Western Australia.<\/p>\n

At the time, his lawyer said they were repeat offenders who “should have known better”, and four of them were jailed.<\/p>\n

Native species of sea cucumber, known as trepang, are a delicacy overseas and are popular targets for Indonesian seafarers like Dora.<\/p>\n

However, it is not a recent phenomenon, as Indonesian people have travelled to Australia for fishing and trade with First Nations groups for centuries<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Dora has been a fisherman since childhood. (Supplied: Department of Corrections)<\/p>\n

The ABC was granted access to Darwin prison to speak to Dora, on the condition that the interview was supervised by the Department of Corrections.<\/p>\n

Speaking through an interpreter, Dora said he was the vessel’s captain, and he and his crew battled severe weather on the way to Australia.<\/p>\n

“This trip was very dangerous because the rain was relentless \u2026 the wind and the waves were very, very high,” he said.<\/p>\n

“As fishermen, when we encounter big, strong winds, a lot of us die or disappear.”\"A<\/p>\n

Dora and his crewmates fished illegally from a 12-metre wooden vessel named Julfikar. (Supplied)<\/p>\n

Dora has been on the water since he left school in grade five, taking over the position from his father, who had just died.<\/p>\n

“If you saw my life with my parents over there, I’m sure you would cry,” Dora said.<\/p>\n

“I also look after my mum and the house, and the wooden foundations of my house are all nearly broken.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

On board the Julfikar, authorities discovered 40 kilograms of trepang, fishing gear, and salt used to preserve the catch. (Supplied)<\/p>\n

This year alone, border authorities have intercepted 21 illegal foreign fishing vessels and seized more than 3.5 tonnes of trepang.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A special operation was launched<\/a> to deal with the problem in Queensland.<\/p>\n

When Dora and his crew were caught last year, they stood to earn about $500 each.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Dora on the day of his most recent arrest in WA waters. (Supplied)<\/p>\n

‘A lot’ of crocodiles<\/p>\n

Dora said weather was not the only danger, and claimed he once saw a crocodile kill a crewmate near the Tiwi Islands, 80 kilometres north of Darwin.<\/p>\n

“The crocodile grabbed my crew member’s leg, and then four of us jumped on the crocodile and then I poked the crocodile’s eyes,” he said.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

Dora said a crewmate was killed by a crocodile near the Tiwi Islands during a fishing trip in the past 12 months. (ABC News: Michael Franchi)<\/p>\n

Dora said the man escaped but later died at sea, despite the crew’s best efforts to save him.<\/p>\n

The ABC could not independently verify the death, however environmental anthropologist Natasha Stacey said it was highly plausible.<\/p>\n

Professor Stacey recently co-authored a report commissioned by the federal government to investigate why fishers like Dora continue to make the perilous journey.<\/p>\n

“[Indonesian] people are aware that fishing is a risky business and that the benefits don’t always outweigh the costs,” she said.<\/p>\n

“We did hear that some fishers had been attacked by crocodiles and that in at least one instance someone had died.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Natasha Stacey is an expert in what drives fishermen from Indonesia to illegally operate in Australian waters. (ABC Rural: Sam Parry)<\/p>\n

She said individual reasons for illegal fishing varied, and Indonesian fishers were often mistakenly considered a “homogenous” group.<\/p>\n

A co-dependent relationship<\/p>\n

Professor Stacey also examined the influence of “‘patron-client relationships” on illegal fishing, where boat owners offer credit in exchange for ongoing services from fishers.<\/p>\n

“It’s very difficult for members of a community or a household to get out of those situations because they’re such a prevalent part of life,” she said.<\/p>\n

Professor Stacey was able to confirm Dora’s trip was financed by a well-known boat owner from Pepela, a small fishing community on the island of Rote.<\/p>\n

\"Wooden<\/p>\n

Traditional fishing boats in Papela port, Rote Island, Indonesia. (Supplied: Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research)<\/p>\n

Dora said his boss had “power” over him and owned dozens of boats operating illegally in Australia.<\/p>\n

“If the boss says go and find some trepang, I will go and find some trepang because we’re just fishermen,” he said.<\/p>\n

Economic development<\/p>\n

Professor Stacey’s report recommended more Australian-led community development programs in Indonesia to address illegal fishing.<\/p>\n

\"Maps<\/p>\n

A map of the Australian Fishing Zone showing where fishing is allowed in the Timor and Arafura seas. (Supplied: Australian Fisheries Management Authority)<\/p>\n

The Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) said it undertook a multi-faceted approach, and was using the report to inform enforcement, community engagement and diplomatic activities.<\/p>\n

AFMA said it recognised improved livelihood options “are an important consideration”, but the report “covers a wide range of issues, many of which fall outside AFMA’s remit”.<\/p>\n

The ABC understands Dora will be released on May 14 and returned to Indonesia.<\/p>\n

He believes the prospect of future trips to Australia is not entirely within his control.<\/p>\n

“The question is not about whether I’m coming back or not, because this is my livelihood.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Deep inside Darwin’s maximum-security prison, Indonesian fisherman Dora Hamidung recounts the horrors of fatal crocodile attacks and tropical…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":389446,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[85,5532,62393,201555,17900,273,3087,138111,16484,5696,201556,1334,8307,111,139,69,201557,147,201554,97317,201553],"class_list":{"0":"post-389445","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-australia","9":"tag-boat","10":"tag-darwin","11":"tag-darwin-prison","12":"tag-enforcement","13":"tag-environment","14":"tag-fishing","15":"tag-illegal-fishing","16":"tag-illegal","17":"tag-indonesia","18":"tag-indonesian-fisherman","19":"tag-jail","20":"tag-law","21":"tag-new-zealand","22":"tag-newzealand","23":"tag-nz","24":"tag-rowley-shoals-marine-park","25":"tag-science","26":"tag-sea-cucumber","27":"tag-tiwi-islands","28":"tag-trepang"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389445","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=389445"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389445\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/389446"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=389445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=389445"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=389445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}