WA Police have partnered with the WA Fishing Industry Council in a bid to stop drug trafficking at sea.
Western Australia is the largest single policing jurisdiction in the world and includes almost 13,000km of mainland coastline.
There are about 500 commercial fishing boats operating across the WA coast.
WA Police Force Commissioner Chris Dawson said the recent seizure of more than 1 tonne of cocaine, ecstasy and methylamphetamine at the Abrolhos Islands highlighted the important role the fishing community can play in protecting our borders.
“In that case, initial concerns about the yacht were reported by fishermen,” Mr Dawson said.
“Fishermen continued to provide information regarding the unusual movements of the crew as officers responded and ultimately seized the illicit drugs and arrested two men.”
The partnership means participating members of the fishing industry will have a direct line to the WA Police Force State Operations Command Centre (SOCC) to report suspicious activity observed at sea in addition to the anonymous Crime Stoppers hotline of 1800 333 000.
WAFIC Chair Dr Ron Edwards said members of the commercial fishing industry were also members of the community which could be impacted by the scourge of illicit drugs.
“The commercial industry is made up of families and workers who like everyone else in our community feels the threats posed by illegal drugs and is anxious about protection from introduced diseases and pests,” WAFIC spokesperson said.
“Our fishing people know their ocean like others know their lounge rooms so to the extent we can assist our WA Police in protecting our shores against law breakers then we will.”
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