Vessel registration scheme yields positive results after visit to Papua New Guinea Treaty Villages

Sixty-six vessels have been registered under the Papua New Guinea (PNG) Treaty Village Vessel Registration Scheme after the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) and Australian Border Force (ABF) led a delegation of Australian and PNG officials travelling to four Treaty Villages in PNG’s western province.

In late 2023, the delegation travelled by ABF helicopter from Thursday Island in the Torres Strait to the PNG Treaty Villages of Mabaduaun, Sigabadura, Parama, and Kadawa. The delegation met with the Treaty Village Councillors to ensure that the vessels were registered accordingly to the owners and their respective village. The delegation included Australian and PNG representatives from Maritime Border Command, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, PNG’s National Fisheries Authority, and the Royal PNG Constabulary.

The Torres Strait Treaty covers sovereignty and maritime boundaries in the Torres Strait and protects the unique land and sea environments. It allows free movement, without passports or visas, of traditional inhabitants of Australia and PNG (those from approved Treaty Villages) for traditional activities within the Torres Strait Protected Zone (TSPZ) and nearby areas. 

The vessel registration scheme links PNG Treaty villager vessels to their respective treaty village. This enhances AFMA’s partner agencies’ confidence in the ability to correctly identify these vessels, and ensuring that the activity undertaken within the TSPZ is in accordance with the Treaty, and not an unlawful operator.

AFMA is committed to protecting the traditional way of life and livelihoods of traditional inhabitants in the TSPZ, and will continue to roll out the PNG Treaty Village Vessel Registration Scheme to the remaining nine Treaty Villages in 2024. 

More information:  
Media: media@afma.gov.au or 0437 869 860  
www.afma.gov.au