Triads, bikers go fishing together?

The Great Barrier Reef's commercial fishing industry is being allegedly infiltrated by Asian criminal syndicates and outlaw bike clubs, according to intelligence provided to Queensland police.

It's alleged that as many as seven commercial fishing licences have been purchased by frontmen for the Triads in the past year.
The intelligence suggests Triads are penetrating the commercial fishing market in a bid to increase their stronghold over the lucrative trade in live coral trout.

"They (Triads) control a lot of the fish markets in Hong Kong and throughout Asia," a police source said. "By coming into Australia they are getting probably . . . the best managed resource in the world.

"It's through a really complicated network of how things are purchased."

The organised crime fears come as poaching of fish from marine sanctuaries, or "green zones", threatens to affect on coral trout stocks.

The number of people caught fishing illegally in Great Barrier Reef "green zones" has surged, according to the latest figures obtained by The Australian.

There were 58 commercial vessels detected in "green zones" in 2001-02 compared with only 17 in 2000-01 and 14 in 1999-2000.

So far this financial year, there have been 25 detections.

Fishing licences, which allow the holder to operate anywhere between Gladstone and the Torres Strait apart from the designated marine sanctuaries, cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. There are about 600 licences in operation at the moment.

The trade in live coral trout is extremely lucrative, as fishermen are paid at least twice as much as for reef fish fillets.

Fishermen receive about $30 a kilo for live coral trout and around Chinese New Year the price is known to reach above $80 a kilo.

In a further concern for police, outlaw motorcycle clubs are believed to be operating within the Queensland fishing market and using vessels to distribute drugs up and down the coast.

Although police have yet to obtain direct evidence, they have also been told that drug factories producing amphetamines have been set up on some boats.

"Some boats are certainly involved in the distribution of illicit drugs, cannabis and amphetamines, both within their own industry and perhaps bringing it on to the mainland," the police source said.

"We are certainly getting enough information through to suggest that there is amphetamine production going on aboard boats off the Queensland coast.

"The link we have is that OMCG (outlaw motor cycle gang) members are doing it."

A joint operation between police and fisheries authorities late last year in Queensland, codenamed Operation Barcoo, was specifically targeted at illegal activities, including fishing in "green zones" on the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

From the 125 offences detected, 21 offences were marine park breaches and 31 people were charged with drug offences.