Fisheries Taskforce Review

In October 2005, the Government directed that the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet establish a review of fisheries compliance and maritime enforcement. 

In considering the issues, the review sought an approach that carefully balanced the requirement for a heightened and highly visible deterrent effect through enforcement action in our maritime zones, with the need to undertake a range of initiatives within Indonesia to discourage individual fishing ventures before they commence. 

The Taskforce's recommendations were designed to provide a greater level of assurance about cohesive planning and deployment of assets and resources to achieve more cost efficient and effective outcomes.  They were:

• Expansion of the Joint Offshore Protection Command's (now Border Protection Command) responsibilities to include control and coordination of all operational response to maritime security threats.
• Enhancement of the Command's analytical capability to collate and fuse intelligence about threats.
• The establishment of a high-level strategic committee to oversee maritime domain awareness, regularly consider maritime security threats through a strategic risk assessment, and advise Cabinet on appropriate response arrangements.