Neighboring`s poachers nabbed in Indonesian Waters

Antara News, by Eliswan Azly, Sunday, April 25, 2010 00:39 WIB

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Illegal fishing in Indonesian waters is no longer an open secret, as this largest archepelagic country with its vast territorial waters has been the target of foreign poachers.

Recently, some poachers from neighboring countries like the Philippines and Vietnam were captured by Indonesian naval patrol boats during routine operations.

Indonesian naval patrol boat KRI Kakap-811 was reported to have caught four Filipino boats poaching in Sulawesi waters this week, Eastern Fleet`s spokesman Lt.Col.Toni Saiful said in Surabaya on Friday.

The fishing boats and their crew had been brought to the Nunukan naval base in East Kalimantan for investigation. The captured boats were identified as FB-Conie 5, FB-Conie 4 FB-Conie 10, and FB-Philcon 3, he said.

"The boats did not have permits for fishing in the Indonesian economic zone. Their skippers and crew members are all Filipinos," he said.

When questioned, they confessed their offense. They sailed from General Santos in the Philippines for fishing in Indonesia, he said.

In the meantime, ten boats manned by Vietnamese fishermen had reportedly been seized by a patrol boat of the ministry of marine affairs and fisheries for illegally fishing in Indonesia`s Exclusive Economic Zone in Natuna waters.

Bambang Nugroho, the head of port of control and monitoring of fishery and marine resources (P2SDKP) said on Friday nine of the boats and their skippers were now held at the port while one had been sent home carrying around 61 crew members of all the boats.

Only the skippers would be legally processed because based upon experience, the crew could not be sued. "At the most, they would be charged with violating the immigration law and then deported," he said.

The nine boats arrived at the P2SDKP port at 3 pm under escort of Hiu Macan 001, a patrol boat of the ministry of marine affairs and fisheries.

Bambang further said the Vietnamese fishermen did not resist arrest and everything therefore went smoothly. "We are still trying to find out about the volume of their catch," he said.

Hiu Macan 001 on Sunday (April 11) seized 10 foreign boats belonging to Vietnamese fishermen for poaching in Natuna waters.

He said nine of the boats were now being legally processed while their 21 tons catch seized as evidence had been destroyed because they contained formaldehyde.

Bambang said Natuna, Arafura and the northern parts of the North Sulawesi waters are foreign fishermen`s favorite places for poaching.

Bambang appealed to the people not to buy the catch of Thai or Vietnamese fishermen not only because they had been stolen from Indonesia but also contains formaldehyde which is detrimental to human health.

According to the FAO, Thailand and Vietnam are the world`s biggest fish producers although they have relatively small territorial waters.

The waters in West Kalimantan which are part of Zone III along with Natuna, Karimata and South China Sea are rich with marine resources reaching one million tons a year.

The fish species in these waters include mackerel, tuna and squids.

In 2007 the ministry sent out 21 of its patrol boats and seized 185 foreign boats, and in 2008 its 23 patrol boats caught red-handed 242 foreign poachers, and in 2009 arrested 180 in Indonesian territorial waters.

The potential loss saved from 180 boats was worth around Rp720 billion based upon the assumption of one motor boat incurring a loss of Rp4 billion a year

Based on the fact that a great number fishing boats had been captured, Indonesia is vulnerable to poaching by foreign trawlers.

From January to March 2010, for instance, the Tanjungpinang immigration had deported a dozen foreign fishermen from Riau Islands, including 15 Thais, 17 Vietnamese, and two Malaysians, for poaching in the waters of Natuna Islands.

Lots of foreign fishermen on their trawlers have been poaching in Indonesian waters for decades.

As a result, Indonesia suffers a loss of at least US$ 2.136 million a year.

Under Indonesian fishery Law No. 31/2004 on fisheries, the ministry`s patrol guards are authorized to carry guns. But in particular, the law is designed to accommodate the needs and challenges of developing the fishing industry and prevent, deter and eliminate illegal fishing.

The Indonesian government has been criticized for being "too lenient" in releasing and allowing Filipino fishermen to repatriate and reunite with their families. They would usually give one or two excuses, humanitarian considerations or lack of funds to provide basic needs and shelter.

Unfortunately, until now Indonesia still has not special committee to deal with illegal fishing cases. The government tends to rely on a sectoral approach in handling such cases. Coordination between related government agencies is weak and would not be applied on a regular basis. A fisheries court has not been established either.

Indonesia and the Philippines have established a Joint Commission on bilateral cooperation. The two countries have also signed an MOU on Marine and Fisheries Cooperation in General Santos, the Philippines, on Feb. 23, 2006. However, the two countries have not yet established bilateral arrangements to table particular issues of fishermen.

Besides, hundreds of confiscated foreign-flagged fishing vessels are now crowding dozens of seaports across Indonesia.

They are corroding, if not sinking and already turned to wrecks, while waiting for legal processing, which could take years. But no specific budget has been allocated for the maintenance of these seized boats.

Indonesia, which suffered a loss of Rp 30 trillion a year to poaching, is desperate to beef up its fishing patrol fleet, which currently consists of only 21 vessels. Securing the fishing boats could at least reduce the loss.