Australia's Opposition Labor Party says the nation's customs service is no longer seizing foreign boats caught illegally fishing in Australian waters, several of these IUU vessels are long liners targeting tuna.
The Opposition says the new policy is revealed in a leaked e-mail and is a threat to the nation's border security.
Our reporter, Richard Davis, quotes the Opposition's Gavan O'Connor as saying the leaked document states that if customs' officers discover a boat fishing illegally, they should only seize its catch and fishing equipment.
The boat and its crew are then released, instead of being towed to the nearest harbour.
Mr. O'Connor says it is the equivalent of a “tag and release†policy. “My concern is not only illegal fishing in a fishery under pressure but also there are serious quarantine concerns, simply because we don't know what might be on these boats and where they go after they're released,†he said.
He says a navy patrol boat recently intercepted seven fishing boats within a 36-hour period, which were caught carrying tuna, shark fins and dolphin blubber.
The Minister for Customs, Chris Ellison was unavailable for comment.