{"id":799,"date":"2026-04-20T20:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T20:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/?p=799"},"modified":"2026-04-20T20:30:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T20:30:00","slug":"why-did-this-man-risk-crocodiles-storms-and-prison-to-fish-in-australian-waters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/?p=799","title":{"rendered":"Why did this man risk crocodiles, storms and prison to fish in Australian waters?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Deep inside Darwin’s high-security prison, Indonesian fisherman Dora Hamidun recounts the horrors of a deadly crocodile attack and tropical storm on her journey to Australia.<\/p>\n

He is a repeat offender who was caught illegally fishing 11 times in Australian waters over 20 years and is currently serving a four-month prison sentence.<\/p>\n

Despite the results, Dora says poverty has forced her to continue sailing to Australia’s northern waters in fragile wooden boats in search of precious seafood.<\/p>\n

He is one of many Indonesians detained each year for illegal fishing and wants to tell his story.<\/p>\n

dora’s story<\/h2>\n

Last year, Dora and her crew were caught with 40kg of illegally harvested sea cucumbers in the Lowry Shoals Marine Park off the coast of Western Australia.<\/p>\n

At the time, his lawyer said they were repeat offenders who “should have known better” and four of them were jailed.<\/p>\n

The native sea cucumber, known as trepan, is a delicacy abroad and a popular target for Indonesian sailors like Dora.<\/p>\n

However, this is not a recent phenomenon; Indonesians have been traveling to Australia for centuries to fish and trade with indigenous peoples.<\/p>\n

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Dora has been a fisherman since childhood. (Provided by: Department of Corrections<\/span>)<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

The ABC was granted access to Darwin Prison to speak to Dora, provided the interview was supervised by the Department of Corrections.<\/p>\n

Dora said through an interpreter that he was the captain of the ship and that he and his crew battled bad weather on their way to Australia.<\/p>\n

“This trip was very dangerous because the rain was relentless and the winds and waves were very high,” he said.<\/p>\n

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\u201dAs fishermen, when we encounter large-scale strong winds, many people die or go missing.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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Dora and her crew were fishing illegally from a 12 meter wooden boat named Julfikar. (Supplied<\/span>)<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Dora has been standing on water ever since she left school in the fifth grade to take the place of her recently deceased father.<\/p>\n

“If you were to see my parents over there, you would probably cry,” Dora said.<\/p>\n

“I am also taking care of my mother and the house, and most of the wooden foundations of our house have been destroyed.”<\/p>\n

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On board the Julfikar, authorities found 40 kilograms of trepan, fishing gear and salt used to preserve the catch. (Supplied<\/span>)<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

This year alone, border authorities have seized 21 illegal foreign fishing vessels and seized more than 3.5 tons of trepan. <\/p>\n

A special operation was launched to address the problem in Queensland.<\/p>\n

When Dora and his crew were caught last year, they were making about $500 each.<\/p>\n

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Dora on the day of her recent arrest in Washington state waters. (Supplied<\/span>)<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

“Lots” of crocodiles<\/h2>\n

Mr Dora said the weather was not the only danger, claiming he once saw a crocodile kill a crew member near the Tiwi Islands, 80km north of Darwin.<\/p>\n

“The crocodile grabbed my crew member’s leg, then the four of us jumped on the crocodile, and then I poked it in the eye,” he said.<\/p>\n

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Ms Dora said her crew had been attacked and killed by crocodiles during fishing trips near the Tiwi Islands in the past 12 months. (ABC News: Michael Franchi<\/span>)<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Dora said the man escaped, but despite the crew’s efforts to rescue him, he later died at sea.<\/p>\n

The ABC could not independently confirm the death, but environmental anthropologist Natasha Stacey said it was very likely.<\/p>\n

Professor Stacey recently co-authored a report commissioned by the federal government to investigate why fishermen like Dora continue to make dangerous voyages.<\/p>\n

\u201d[Indonesian] “People realize that fishing is a risky business and the benefits don’t always outweigh the costs,” she said.<\/p>\n

“I heard that several fishermen were attacked by crocodiles and at least once someone died.”<\/p>\n

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Natasha Stacey is an expert on what drives Indonesian fishermen to illegally fish in Australian waters. (ABC Countryside: Sam Parry<\/span>)<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

He said the reasons for illegal fishing vary and that Indonesian fishermen are often mistakenly seen as a “homogeneous” group.<\/p>\n

codependency<\/h2>\n

Professor Stacey also investigated the impact on illegal fishing of ‘patron-client relationships’, where boat owners provide credits in exchange for continued services from fishermen.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese conditions are so prevalent that it is very difficult for community and household members to escape them,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Professor Stacey was able to confirm that Dora’s trip was financed by a famous boat owner from Pepera, a small fishing village on Rote Island.<\/p>\n

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\"Wooden<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>
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Traditional fishing boats at Papala Harbor on Rote Island, Indonesia. (Provided by: Australian International Agricultural Research Center<\/span>)<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Ms Dora said her boss had “power” over her and owned dozens of boats operating illegally in Australia.<\/p>\n

“If the boss says go look for trepangs, I’ll go look for trepangs, because we’re just fishermen,” he said.<\/p>\n

economic development<\/h2>\n

Professor Stacey’s report recommended further Australian-led community development programs in Indonesia to address illegal fishing.<\/p>\n

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Australian fishing zones map showing where fishing is permitted in the Timor Sea and Arafura Sea. (Provided by: Australian Fisheries Management Authority<\/span>)<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

The Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) said it was taking a multi-pronged approach and was using the report to inform enforcement, community engagement and diplomatic efforts.<\/p>\n

AFMA acknowledged that improving livelihoods is an “important consideration”, but said the report “covers a wide range of issues, many of which are outside AFMA’s jurisdiction”.<\/p>\n

The ABC understands Dora will be released on May 14 and return to Indonesia.<\/p>\n

He believes the prospect of future travel to Australia is not entirely within his control.<\/p>\n

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\u201dThe question is not whether I will go back. This is my livelihood.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

#man #risk #crocodiles #storms #prison #fish #Australian #waters<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Deep inside Darwin’s high-security prison, Indonesian fisherman Dora Hamidun recounts the horrors of a deadly crocodile attack and tropical storm on her journey to Australia. He is a repeat offender who was caught illegally fishing 11 times in Australian waters over 20 years and is currently serving a four-month prison sentence. Despite the results, Dora … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":800,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[1831,1398,1837,1845,1832,1839,1838,1847,727,1842,1830,1841,1834,1840,1471,1844,1833,1843,858,1836,1846,1835,1848],"class_list":["post-799","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-australia","tag-australian","tag-boat","tag-crocodiles","tag-darwin","tag-darwin-prison","tag-execution","tag-fish","tag-fishing","tag-folding-island","tag-illegal","tag-illegal-fishing","tag-indonesia","tag-indonesian-fisherman","tag-law","tag-man","tag-prison","tag-raleigh-shoals-marine-park","tag-risk","tag-sea-cucumber","tag-storms","tag-trepan","tag-waters"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/799","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=799"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/799\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/800"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=799"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=799"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=799"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}