Topic: Workplace Accidents and Incidents. Fisheries officers in NSW are calling for the same protections as their colleagues in Victoria. Fisheries officers are calling for the right to use capsicum spray and wear stab-proof vests after run-ins with illegal poachers and criminal gangs. They are also refusing to carry out night inspections of trawlers without police assistance.
Supervising fisheries officer Joe Wright knows too well the dangers of confronting a fisherman suspected of an illegal catch. Mr Wright is one of dozens of fisheries officers in New South Wales who have been threatened with assault while on the job, protecting oceans, rivers and estuaries.
These officers are now demanding stab-proof vests and capsicum spray, amid fears workers are at risk of being hurt or even killed.
The union representing the officers says they are unsafe and "operationally ineffective" when coming face-to-face with poachers and organised criminals. Fisheries officers can inspect trawlers to ensure the fish catch is lawful. In March, a fisheries officer at Iluka on the NSW north coast was threatened with a timber club and pursued through town in his car after carrying out covert surveillance at night.
The officer had been watching a trawler suspected of illegal fishing. The accused is before court facing 13 criminal charges including resisting and obstructing a fisheries officer.
