Black market fishing costs legal operators billions of dollars globally per year.
Australian authorities are cracking down on the industry, issuing large fines and boats.
Authorities are looking to scale up their surveillance equipment to combat the issue.
In the waters between Brisbane and Russell Island, he was caught poaching mud crabs and selling them in south-east Queensland.
"Mud crabs can retail anywhere up to $64 a kilo for high-quality, top-grade mud crabs," said Graeme Bolton, director-general of Queensland's Department of Primary Industries.
Last year, other seafood species such as threadfin salmon, molluscs and mulloway were uncovered at the man's house following a raid by fisheries officers.
In 2024, a 46-year-old Gold Coast man was caught hiding crabs in his boat.
After searching his property, officers found more boxes of crabs.
The domestic illicit seafood trade in Australia involves both recreational and commercial anglers poaching fish and other seafood to sell on the black market.
According to the Australian Fisheries Management Authority, 273 people were prosecuted for illegal fishing in WA in 2025, more than triple the number from 2024.
Due to a jump in illegal activity, fisheries officers have increased their patrols, and in the Northern Territory, 237 foreign fishers were prosecuted in the Darwin Local Court between 2024 and 2025, an increase from 75 prosecutions between 2023 and 2024.
In Queensland, 1,809 reports of illegal fishing were investigated between 2024 and 2025, and 14 matters were prosecuted in the Magistrates Court.
In Victoria, 473 fines were issued between 2025 and 2026.
In 2023, the New South Wales Government recorded 2,900 illegal fishing reports handled by the fisheries department.