RI suffers US$ 3 billion loss due to illegal fishing

Pelabuhanratu, Sukabumi (ANTARA News) - Indonesia suffered a loss of US$ 3 billion a year due to illegal fishing.

The big loss has prompted the relevant authorities to speed up the establishment of a Fishery Court in five regions in the country, Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, Freddy Numberi said after a dialogue with fishermen in Sukabumi, West Java, Tuesday.

"To reduce illegal fishing activities, we need to speed up the establishment of a fishery court for the trial of the perpetrators," Numberi said.

Illegal fishing has become rampant in the South China Sea and Arafura Sea, mostly by Chinese, Thai, and Phillipine fishermen.

To date, the trial of illegal fishing perpetrators by a district court would take at least 12 months, but a fishery court may need only one month to complete such legal process.

Meanwhile, head of the statistics and information division at the ministry, Saud P Hutagalung, said illegal fishing in Indonesian waters happened every day.

Almost every day, officials of the ministry in association with the police and the navy, seized dozens of foreign fishing boats for poaching in Indonesian territorial waters.

The fishery courts in five regions, namely Batam, Pontianak, Medan, Jakarta and Tual are scheduled to start operating in mid-2007.