On 26 November 2007, the Federal Court of Australia in Melbourne ratified financial penalties for price-fixing that had been agreed between the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and a group of abalone fishermen in South-Eastern Australia. Australia is the largest supplier of wild abalone to the world market, and the tightly controlled fisheries are among the most valuable commercially.
The ACCC had brought proceedings against the fishermen. Frontier (Australia) assisted the ACCC and Philip Williams of Frontier gave lengthy evidence for the ACCC. At the conclusion of the ACCC’s case, the judge directed the matter to a Court Registrar for mediation and the case was settled.