New South Wales fisheries officers require stab protection vests and capsicum spray to do their jobs safely

Chief Fisheries Officer Joe Wright knows too well the danger of confronting a fisherman suspected of an illegal catch.

He says situations can quickly become hostile.

“People were driving cars at me, they were very aggressive,” he said.

Mr Wright is one of dozens of New South Wales fisheries officers who have been threatened with violence while working to protect oceans, rivers and estuaries.

Those officials are now demanding stab-proof vests and capsicum spray because they fear workers could be injured or even killed.

The union representing the officers says they are unsafe and “operationally ineffective” when facing poachers and organized criminals.

In March, a fisheries officer in Iluka, on the New South Wales north coast, was threatened by a logger and followed around town in his car after conducting undercover surveillance at night.

The officer had observed a trawler that was suspected of illegal fishing.

The defendant faces 13 criminal charges, including resisting and obstructing a fisheries officer.

Mr Wright says many officers do not feel safe doing their jobs.

“The fact that not a single fisheries officer has been killed in New South Wales recently doing their job out there is a testament to the caliber of people actually doing their jobs,” he said.

The high value of prime seafood has increased the lure of illegal activity.

“All you need is a diving suit and abalone removal equipment,” Mr Wright said.

“In a few hours you can literally take hundreds and hundreds of abalone.

“There is a very valuable market for these species.”

Assaults, shootings and death threats

According to the Public Service Association, more than a dozen officers have been threatened with being shot or stabbed or have faced significant threats of violence in the past decade.

“Our colleagues in Victoria are equipped with stab vests and capsicum spray, we are just asking for the same equipment,” Mr Wright said.

NSW fisheries officers have the authority to use body-worn cameras, but Mr Wright said they could not activate them on private property without the permission of the person they suspect of wrongdoing.

Also called for are new laws giving them basic search rights, like those granted to inspectors in Queensland and Victoria, as well as GPS monitoring for commercial fishing vessels.

Fisheries officers, who are members of the Public Service Association of NSW (PSA), have refused to carry out nighttime inspections of trawlers without police support since September.

Inspections of all commercial inland fishing operations outside of daylight hours without police were also stopped.

The NSW Department of Primary Industries says it “does not agree with PSA’s assertion that the department is requiring fisheries officers to carry out work in an unsafe environment”.

Capsicum spray trial

In correspondence between the department and the Public Service Association, seen by the ABC, Deputy Minister for Fisheries and Forestry Sean Sloan admitted there were inherent risks to the role.

“Our existing security processes and systems have been carefully developed over time and are continually reviewed,” the document says.

“It is an integrated and fundamental aspect of our security framework that we instruct officers to withdraw from situations that they believe are unsafe.”

The department said it conducted a 12-month trial of capsicum spray on the state’s south coast and introduced what it said was an improved body-worn camera system.

The Ministry will not provide any results of the process while the matter is before the Industrial Relations Commission.

Industry officials say there is “absolutely” a risk of physical harm to fisheries officials.

Stephen Bunney, co-chair of the Abalone Association NSW, is a second generation abalone diver. He says illegal poaching is increasing along the far south coast.

“We’ve seen organized crime come back to New South Wales on a large scale, particularly around abalone and some other species down here,” he said

“Last year there were over 50 tonnes illegal [catch] So in New South Wales it’s serious organized crime, it’s a product worth over $15 million.”

At the same time, the level of sophistication also increases.

“Organized crime people have great communications and night vision capabilities,” Bunney said.

He also questioned how serious the risk had to be before NSW Police could become responsible.

“When we start talking about organized crime and gangs like that, I would say compliance definitely plays a role in gathering information and disrupting it wherever they can safely.”

“But… you really need to turn this over to the police because you’re talking about organized motorcycle gangs, you’re talking about criminal gangs.”

“Compliance officers…they do a great job, but police officers are police officers.”