Australia arrests 61 Indonesian fishermen

The Jakarta Post

BRISBANE (Antara): Australian authorities have arrested 61 Indonesian fishermen on charges of poaching in an Australian fishery zone, an official said Wednesday.

"We previously received notification on the arrest of the Indonesian fishermen. But only this week did we get their data from the Australian Immigration authorities," First Secretary at the Indonesian Consulate General in Darwin, Teguh Wiweko, toldAntara on Wednesday.

He said the consulate general needed the fishermen's information to prepare travel documents for their deportation.

Usually in these types of cases, a crew member is detained for a week or 10 days before he or she is deported, Teguh said.

On Aug. 25, Australian patrol boats also detained three Indonesian traditional fishing vessels with 29 crew members in the waters of the Ashmore islands.He said the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding in 1974 that allowed Indonesian traditional fishermen to fish in the waters of the Ashmore islands for their personal needs. However,commercial fishing is not allowed.

However, the area is a nature preserve so Indonesian fishermen should respect the status of the waters, he said.