A commercial fisherman operating in the Pilbara says it was "insane" to see an Indonesian boat off the Pilbara coast.
Key points:
- The sighting, off Port Hedland, is further south than usual
- A commercial fisherman says there were around 10 people on the boat and spent days picking over the reef
- The latest sighting comes amid a rapid increase in illegal fishing activity in Australia's northern waters
Callum Cooper and his brother arrived at Bedout Island, north-west of Port Hedland, on the afternoon of September 10.
"I could see straight away that it was an Indonesian boat," he said.
"We were just mind blown to think that they were there, so we went in and parked up next to them.
"You could see them all on the reef, about 10 of them just picking at the reef.
"[I] never thought you'd ever see an Indonesian boat that close to Australia and that far down the coast."
Bedout Island is 42 kilometres offshore, and 95km from Port Hedland.
Mr Cooper said he used a satellite phone to call a friend on shore, and asked them to contact authorities.
"We contacted someone to ring Customs and they are in Customs and said that they would pass it on to a few other agencies," he said.
"Then they rang Border Force and all they got back was a voice call saying, 'Sorry, we're not open on weekends' so that was as far as that went really.
Fellow fisherman Kim White said he heard that Mr Cooper had spotted the boat and also reported it to the Department of Transport on September 12.
Mr Cooper and his brother stayed near the boat for another two days and nights.
"That entire time they were there, no-one came along and did anything about it, even though we rang up about it the first night that we were there," he said.
They were still there on the evening of September 13 when the brothers had to leave.
Spike in sightings of illegal boats
The latest sighting comes amid a rapid increase in illegal fishing activity in Australia's northern waters.
An illegal fishing camp was discovered off the far northern Kimberley last month, while nine Indonesian fishermen were killed when their boat capsized in rough weather near Ashmore Reef in March.
But the Hedland sighting is the southernmost to draw significant public attention.
Mr Cooper said it was frustrating to see the reef pillaged.
"It's pretty insane that, as a commercial fisherman, I know how many rules and regulations we've got to go through," he said.
"So it's one of those things where you kind of look at it and go, how have you got an Indonesian boat sitting off the reef, just taking everything off the reef?
"Everything's getting stricter and stricter and there are getting less and less fish and, with all that happening, it is a bit of a joke, to be honest."
The Australian Border Force has been contacted for comment.
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Indonesian fisherman 'picking at' Pilbara reef for days ignored by authorities - ABC News
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