Naval base offers rewards to fishermen reporting smuggling activity

Pangkalpinang (ANTARA News) - The Bangka Belitung Naval Base Tuesday offered rewards to fishermen who can provide information to uncover tin smuggling, illegal fishing and illegal log trading activities.

"We hope local fishermen can provide such information. We cannot fight the illegal activities alone as Bangka Belitung is mostly made up of waters so smuggling activity can happen almost anywhere in the province," Bangka Belitung Naval Base Commander Col M. Zainuddin said on Wednesday.

But he stopped short of revealing what the rewards would be.

He said he had the impression that local fishermen who had seen or knew about strange things happening at sea were often afraid to report to the security agencies.