Fisherman denies taking Australian trepang
Posted
The Northern Territory Supreme Court trial of an Indonesian man accused of fishing illegally has been played a videotape of an interview he did with authorities shortly after he was arrested.
The 41-year-old fisherman was the master of an Indonesian fishing boat picked up by the navy in April this year.
The boat wasn't in Australian waters, but an area further north where Australia owns the sea floor, where trepang live, but Indonesia owns the sea.
In his record of interview, the master agreed he had trepang fishing gear on board but denied he'd taken any from that area.
He said he's been told by Australian authorities in the past he couldn't take trepang from the area he was caught in, but he could enter it and move around.
In his opening address to the jury, the prosecutor said the man had claimed he only crossed the treaty line to look for another boat.
The trial continues on Monday.
