All fishing boats required to carry monitoring device next year

Manado, North Sulawesi (ANTARA News) - Starting March 2008, all fishing boats operating in Indonesia`s territorial waters must carry a device for the monitoring of their positions, a naval official said.

The government will revoke the operational permit of any fishing boat that still lacks the device after March 2008, Commodore Edy Jusuf, commander of the Navy`s Manado base, said here Monday.

"The device will make it easier for the Search and Rescue (SAR) Agency to do its job in emergencies. Many new fishing boats in North Sulawesi are already using the device," he said.

Old fishing boats had asked the local administration for time until March 2008 to install the monitoring device.