It's enough to make shark conservationists weep. Fleets of fast speedboats are reported to be marauding from Indonesia into northern Australian waters, targeting sharks for their fins.

According to Australian press reports, fast, narrow craft, inexpensive to build and driven by powerful outboard engines, are proliferating in Indonesia and entering Australian waters for shark catches.

The Australian authorities are reported to have apprehended some 40 raiders of the so-called Bodi fleet - but it has been calculated that some 400 of these boats are based in Papela harbour, on Indonesia's Rote island.

It seems that the problem is only going to get worse. Professor James Fox, of the Australian National University, told the Sydney Morning Herald: "The boats will be coming out of other ports soon." Two years ago, he said, there were no Bodi boats fishing in Australian waters.

The situation has led to tension between Australian and Indonesian politicians, with the Indonesian Government reportedly resisting requests by Australia to control illegal poaching in Australian waters.

Professor Fox refuted Indonesian claims that if fisherman entered Australian waters it was by mistake. "They know dammed well where they are - they are professional fishermen," he said.

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