Illegal fishing WA: Indigenous rangers and Australian Border Force patrol Kimberley coast

It’s muggy, ridden with mosquitos and home to saltwater crocodiles, but that’s what makes Western Australia’s far north coast a favourite hiding spot for illegal fishers.

However, local rangers are hoping to change that.

A boat with rangers on the patrol. Credit: Dambimangari Aboriginal Corporation

Indigenous rangers and WA’s Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions took Australian Border Force officers out to remote beaches and mangroves forests on the Kimberley coast earlier this month, to uncover where illegal fishers may potentially hide when trying to cross into Australian waters.

The four-day patrol was part of Operation Leedstrum, and involved Indigenous rangers passing on their knowledge of the region’s remote beaches, inhospitable islands and dense mangrove