FISHERIES —
OPERATION SHADOWEDGE
578. Hon COLIN de GRUSSA to the minister representing the
Minister for Fisheries:
I refer to the17 May media release
on the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development website
regarding Operation Shadowedge—a surveillance program to monitor
fishing activity through the use of drones and long-range cameras.
(1) What geographical areas are
being targeted as part of Operation Shadowedge?
(2) How much is
the Operation Shadowedge program costing and how is this money being spent in
each target area?
(3) What measures
is the state government taking to ensure it does not conduct surveillance
operations over private property or contravene the Surveillance Devices Act
1998 in any way?
(4) Who is operating the drones and
what training qualifications or licences do they hold?
Hon
ALANNAH MacTIERNAN replied:
I thank the member for the
question. The Minister for Fisheries has provided the following information.
(1) Numerous
locations will be targeted around the major locations of Esperance, Albany,
Busselton and Bunbury. There will be a particular emphasis on remote locations
surrounding these areas.
(2) Operation
Shadowedge is being funded from the department's existing compliance
budget. Resources will be deployed to each location based on the level of
activity detected.
(3) Drones will
not be used over private property. They will focus on coastal locations that
are not accessible by road. All operations will be conducted in accordance with
the relevant legislation.
(4) Contractors with appropriate
training and qualifications will be operating the drones.