Foreign fishing boats spotted by aircraft passenger Salome Toby near Turnagain Island

Yahoo on Google : Kamilia Palu, News Editor : Mon 26 January 2026

Torres Shire Council demands answers after a ‘scary’ scene spotted from plane window over Australian waters. The council is now demanding answers from authorities after multiple residents came forward with similar concerns.

From the window of the small plane, Salome Toby spotted multiple foreign fishing vessels in Australian waters. 

Salome Toby has lived in the Torres Strait Islands her whole life, but on Friday she saw something she’d never seen before. She was flying home to Boigu Island, Australia’s northernmost inhabited island, when she spotted something unusual out of the plane’s window. The sea below was dotted with tiny vessels. Observing the long, narrow shape, she immediately knew they were foreign fishing boats illegally fishing in Australian waters.

“We thought it was island boats, but when I zoomed in, I saw that it was a different sort of boat,” Salome told Yahoo News. “We were so shocked and scared. There were so many.”

Despite being an Australian Territory, Boigu Island is located just six kilometres from Papua New Guinea. 30km to the south is Turnagain island, an uninhabited island where the foreign boats were situated.

“Never in my life have I seen those boats in our waters,” Salome said, adding that it made her worry for the safety of her community. “Everybody on the island is a bit shocked that there are so many.” She said more needs to be done, and noted border force vessels only make an appearance “three or four” times a year. Salome isn’t the only resident to spot the foreign vessels close to shore. Other photos published online over the weekend show more boats in shallow waters and one even beached on Mabuiag Island, about 45km south of Turnagain Island.

A spokesperson from the Department of Home Affairs told Yahoo News that Border Force is aware of the reports coming out of the Torres Strait Islands. “While operations are ongoing, we cannot comment further,” they said. “We appreciate and encourage the community to report any suspicious activity to Border Watch.”