Officer: I Saw Susno Take the Bribe Over Fish Farm

Jakarta Globe, Farouk Arnaz, May 09, 2010

Susno Duadji arriving at National Police headquarters in this file photo.
(JG Photo/Safir Makki)

A middle-ranking police officer said on Sunday he witnessed former National Police chief of detectives Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji take a bribe from suspected major case broker Sjahril Djohan in December 2008.

“I saw it,” former narcotics detective Adj. Sr. Comr. Syamsurizal Mokoagouw told the Jakarta Globe. “I bumped into Sjahril at Susno’s house on Jalan Abu Ferin in Fatmawati [South Jakarta]. I was there to report to Susno prior to my departure for the Netherlands on a methamphetamine-smuggling investigation.”

Syamsurizal added police have summoned him as a witness in the probe into the alleged Rp 500 million ($55,000) bribe.

“I told the investigators everything I saw,” he said. “I’m willing to testify against Susno, and I’m not afraid of anything because what I’ve said is true.”

He said he saw Sjahril hand Susno a brown paper bag, but did not see its contents. Sjahril is alleged to have bribed Susno on behalf of the co-owner of a fish farm who was seeking a police probe into his business partner for embezzlement.

“Since the case came to light, I’ve understood that the money was a bribe,” Syamsurizal said.

According to copies of police dossiers obtained by the Globe three weeks ago, Sjahril, who was declared a suspect in mid-April, told investigators he had personally handed over the bribe to Susno at the latter’s home in December 2008.

Sjahril said that Syamsurizal had happened to be there. Sjahril said he was acquainted with the officer from his stint as a consultant at the National Police’s Narcotics Directorate in East Jakarta, where Syamsurizal served between 2006 and 2008.

Sjahril, according to the dossiers, said the money came from Haposan Hutagalung, a lawyer representing a Singaporean businessman identified only as Mr Hoo. Hoo had previously pressed charges against his business partner, Anwar Salamah, for allegedly embezzling 11 million Singapore dollars from their joint-venture arowana farm in Riau.

“Mr Hoo felt the police investigators were ineffective, so Haposan sought my help to speed things up,” Sjahril said. “I was close to Susno, so I used that relationship to help Haposan.”

Susno is scheduled for questioning at police headquarters this morning as a witness after failing to appear last Thursday.

“I’ve given my explanation to this allegation on my personal Web site, www.susnoduadji.com,” he told the Globe on Sunday. “Check it out there.”

In his statement, Susno reiterates his innocence and denies ever taking a bribe from Sjahril.

“It is impossible that I took a bribe because the [arowana] case remains in limbo even now,” the site says. “The prosecutors say their dossier on it is not yet complete.” Susno adds that one of his superiors was a stakeholder in the farm, but does not elaborate.

Susno also says on his site that he will show up for questioning today but will demand details of the case before proceeding with the questioning.

A police source working on the case told the Globe earlier that police were close to arresting Susno on charges of bribery, no matter the outcome of his questioning.

Related Article:

Susno evades questioning while police reveal new case

West Nusa Tenggara eyes international marine event

Antara, Lombok | Sat, 05/08/2010 8:45 PM

Sail Indonesia September 2009

West Nusa Teggara (NTB) province has all the supporting facilities needed to host an international marine event dubbed Sail Lombok-Sumbawa 2012, a local tourism official said.

"We have all supporting facilities, we have potential, and therefore we want to host an international marine event in the province," NTB Culture and Tourism Office spokesman Lalu Gita Ariadi said in Lombok on Saturday.

Gita said he had proposed that West Nusa Tenggara host such an international marine event in 2012 with hundreds of participants from various countries being predicted to attend.

"Sail Lombok-Sumbawa 2012 will be a precious moment for West Nusa Tenggara to promote its abundant tourism potentials," Gita Ariadi said, adding that he had sent a letter of request to the Culture and Tourism Ministry to host the event.

In Sail Bunaken 2009 last year, he said the participants sailed by the northern coastline of Lombok, while the participants of Sail Banda this year would go through two courses namely the northern and southern parts of the island.

According to Gita Ariadi, Sail Lombok-Sumbawa 2012 would be a good momentum for West Nusa Tenggara to net even more tourists into the province.

Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Fadel Muhammat at Senggigi resort in Lombok Barat regency said on Friday he would make Sail Lombok-Sumbawa 2012 part of his program to support the development of the tourism sector in the province.

"It will be West Nusa Tenggara's turn to host an international marine event through Sail Lombok-Sumbawa, in 2012," Fadel said in the company of Culture and Tourism Minister Jero Wacik after conducting pearl harvest at Senggigi resort on Thursday.

The pearl harvest was part of Lombok Sumbawa Pearl Festival 2010 which was centered at Sentosa Hotel on Senggigi tourist resort in Lombok Barat regency.

Fadel said the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry would continue to organize sail event every year.

Meanwhile, West Nusa Tenggara Governor Zainul Madji said he would continue to make things ready for the implementation of Sail Lombok-Sumbawa 2012.

"Besides hosting Sail Lombok-Sumbawa 2012, West Nusa Tenggara will also be ready to organize International Seaweed Forum in the same year," the governor said.

What next after Sail Banda 2010

Antara News, Otniel Tamindael, Saturday, May 8, 2010 13:40 WIB

Jakarta, May (ANTARA News) - Situated between the Indian and Pacific Oceans, in the intermediate part of the continents of Asia and Australia, Indonesia is proud of organizing annual sailing rallies for the tenth year.

Called Sail Indonesia, it is an annual sailing rally that usually departs from the harbor of the Australian Northern Territorial City of Darwin in the middle of July and is followed by a three-month program of linked events across the country.

The events this year are managed jointly by the Indonesian Navy, the Indonesian Marine Foundation (Yayasan Cinta Bahari), the Indonesian Sailing Federation, Sail Indonesia, and Sail Banda.

Sail Banda 2010 was officially launched in the eastern Indonesian scenic city of Ambon for implementation from June 12 - August 17 this year.

At a ceremony to launch Sail Banda in Ambon on Friday night, April 16, 2010, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Fadel Muhammad called on all parties to support the event and to make it a success.

Fadel said the international marine event was named Sail Banda because the Banda islands bear particular historic meaning with countless relics lying scattered across the islands, serving as reminders of the days when Banda was once a major producer of a valuable commodity over which ancient world powers fought protracted wars.

But what comes next after the eagerly awaited event of Sail Banda 2010?

Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Fadel Muhammad at Senggigi resort on Lombok island in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) province on Thursday said he had made Sail Lombok-Sumbawa 2012 part of his program to support development of the tourism sector in the province.

"It will be West Nusa Tenggara`s turn to host an international marine event, namely Sail Lombok-Sumbawa, in 2012," Fadel Muhamad said after witnessing the harvest of Lombok pearl cultivation product with Culture and Tourism Minister Jero Wacik.

The pearl harvest was part of Lombok Sumbawa Pearl Festival 2010 which was centered at Sentosa Hotel on Senggigi tourist resort in Lombok Barat district.

Fadel said the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry would continue to organize a sail event every year.

Last year was Sail Bunaken event in North Sulawesi and this year a similar event would be conducted in Maluku as Sail Banda 2010, next year it would probably be moved to Central Sulawesi as Sail Togean 2011, and in 2012 it will be called Sail Lombok-Sumbawa 2012 in West Nusa Tenggara.

Head of the Central Sulawesi cultural and tourism office Suaib Djafar said in Palu late last month that the office would organize Sail Togean 2011.

Djafar said the Central Sulawesi provincial administration would learn from the experiences of North Sulawesi in organizing `Sail Bunaken` and Maluku which would hold `Sail Banda`.

The Togean island chain is an ecological wonder located in Tojo Una-Una district Central Sulawesi, about a 10-hour`s journey from Palu, the province`s capital.

It is an archipelago of 56 pristine coral and volcanic islands and islets located in the Gulf of Tomini in Central Sulawesi, with surrounding coral reef supports a rich, diverse marine life and life over the surface.

Actually, the Togeans are the only place in Indonesia where you can find all major reef types in the same place; atoll, barrier and fringing reefs.

After Sail Togean 2011, it will be West Nusa Tenggara`s turn to organize Sail Lombok-Sumbawa 2012.

Meanwhile, West Nusa Tenggara Governor Zainul Madji said he would continue to make things ready for the implementation of Sail Lombok-Sumbawa 2012.

He said the provincial administration would make every effort to improve supporting facilities of electricity, clean water, and telecommunication for the international marine event in the province.

"Besides hosting Sail Lombok-Sumbawa 2012, West Nusa Tenggara will also be ready to organize International Seaweed Forum in the same year," the NTB governor said.

West Nusa Tenggara Culture and Tourism Office spokesman Lalu Gita Ariadi said the province had all supporting facilities to make the international marine event of Sail Lombok-Sumbawa 2012 as success.

"We have all supporting facilities, we have potential, and therefore we want to host the international marine event in the province," Lalu Gita Ariadi, di Lombok, on Friday.

He said such an international event would be participated in by hundreds of participants from various countries and therefore he has proposed that West Nusa Tenggara host the event in 2012.

"Sail Lombok-Sumbawa 2012 will be a precious moment for West Nusa Tenggara to promote its abundant tourism potentials," Gita Ariadi said, adding that he had sent a letter of request to the Culture and Tourism Ministry to host the international event.

In Sail Bunaken 2009 last year, he said the participants sailed by the northern coastline of Lombok, and the participants of Sail Banda this year would pass two courses namely the northern and southern parts of the island.

According to Gita Ariadi, Sail Lombok-Sumbawa 2012 would be a good momentum for West Nusa Tenggara to net even more tourists into the province.

Indonesia Eyes Gas Promised to Japan

Jakarta Globe, Reva Sasistiya & Bloomberg, May 07, 2010

A tanker being loaded with LNG at Bontang in Kalimantan. Domestic gas shortage may prompt to state to revise deals with Japan. (Bloomberg Photo)

As Indonesia continues to suffer from a shortage of liquefied natural gas, the government said on Friday that an existing contract to supply LNG from Central Kalimantan to Japanese buyers would likely be revised to enable more fuel to be allocated to the domestic market.

Energy Minister Darwin Zahedy Saleh said the government may alter the contract to provide Japanese buyers LNG from the Bontang project in Central Kalimantan.

“We’re able to revise the contract supply since the gas is our resource,” Darwin said. He acknowledged the possibility of penalties from buyers if Indonesia failed to meet its agreement, but he asked for understanding from Japanese companies. “We’re still considering it.”

The LNG contract from Bontang was signed on Feb. 13, 2009 between operators PT Pertamina, Total EP Indonesia and Inpex Corporation and six Japanese buyers: Chubu Electric Power; Kansai Electric Power Co.; Kyushu Electric Power; Nippon Steel; Osaka Gas and Toho Gas.

The agreement covers a 10-year period starting in 2011. For the first five years, three million tons a year would be allocated to the Japanese buyers with two million tons a year allocated for the second five years. Currently, Japanese buyers are taking 12 million tons a year from Bontang.

Raden Priyono, head of upstream oil and gas regulator BPMigas, said as the amount of Bontang gas exported to Japan would be lower next year, there would be excess output of 2.5 million tons.

“The gas will be allocated to the domestic market, but if the infrastructure is not ready, we will have to find another buyer.”

Currently, it’s estimated Indonesia is suffering from a 2.5 billion standard cubic feet of gas a day deficit.

Meanwhile, Evita Legowo, director general of oil and gas at the Ministry of Energy, said final government approval of the Donggi-Senoro LNG plant may not take place until near the end of the year, meaning the plant would now not be finished until 2014. The facility was originally supposed to be completed this year.

The plant is 51 percent owned by Japan’s Mitsubishi. Pertamina holds 29 percent and PT Medco Energi Internasional owns the rest.

At issue is who will be allowed to purchase the gas. In January 2009, the operating consortium agreed to supply one million tons of LNG annually to Chubu Electric Power and one million tons per year to Kansai Electric over 15 years.

But last July, then-Vice President Jusuf Kalla instructed the energy minister and Pertamina’s president director to allocate the gas to domestic buyers.

The fate of the gas has been unclear since then, with the government and the consortium partners at odds over whether the gas should be sold domestically, where it would bring a lower price, or on the international market.

One Japanese buyer pulled out in August and prospective buyers from Japan and South Korea this week threatened to walk away if the government didn’t decide soon how the gas would be allocated.

The decision will be Vice President Boediono’s. Darwin said he would meet with Boediono to discuss it on Monday.

Evita said the decision could be made before the end of the month.

Three ocean expeditions to be launched this year

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 05/07/2010 7:34 PM

Indonesia would launch three expeditions in its waters to discover new findings on its biodiversity and carry out ocean mapping this month, scientists said Friday.

"There will be three ships launched [for the expedition]: the BJ [Baruna Jaya] VIII... BJ III...and BJ IV," Gellwynn Jusuf, the head of the Maritime and Fisheries Ministry's Maritime and Fisheries' Research Division (BRKP) said in Jakarta.

The expedition team aboard Baruna Jaya III, called Java Upwelling Cruises, would cooperate with First Institute of Oceanography from China to carry out a research in the Indian Ocean, south of Java.

The Baruna Jaya IV would cooperate with OKEANOS ship from the United States to conduct research in the Sangihe Talaud waters north of Sulawesi, while researchers from Indonesia, Australia and Timor Leste would conduct research in the Arafura sea using the Baruna Jaya VIII.

Local institutions involved in the projects include the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), BRKP,and the Technology Application and Assessment Agency (BPPT).

Indonesia waters yield 53 percent of world`s pearls

Antara News, Friday, May 7, 2010 15:24 WIB

Lombok Barat, W Nusa Tenggara (ANTARA News) - At least 53 percent of the world`s finest types of pearl is to be found in Indonesian waters, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Fadel Muhammad said here on Thursday.

"Indonesia has good pearl industry prospects because 53 percent of the world`s finest types of pearl is to be found in our waters," Fadel Muhammad said after witnessing a harvest of Lombok pearl farmers at Senggigi in Lombok Barat district, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) province.

Therefore, Fadel said, he would involve pearl experts in the activity of Lpmbok Barat pearl breeders so that their product would have the quality most admired by jewelers.

He said the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry was determined to have the world`s finest pearls in 2012 from producing areas of Lombok, Maluku, and Papua.

Fadel said Indonesia had such a determination because the pearl price in the country two years ago had dropped as it lost in international competition.

According to the maritime affairs and fisheries minister, the drop in the price of Indonesian pearls was due to three factors, namely lack of marketing personnel abroad, lack of technology in cultivation, and little support from the banking world.

"I came to know this after I coordinated with the Indonesian Pearl Cultivators` Association (Asbumi)," Fadel said, expressing hope that pearl cultivation in Lombok island would continue to make good progress as expected by all parties because the historically the development of world-class pearls had something to do with Lombok island.

He said the "pitada maxima" pearl, the world largest species, was rumored to have originally come from Lombok which then continued to move to China until the United States.

"I admit that my visit to Lombok has something to do with an effort to cultivate world class pearls in one package with tourism development," Fadel said.

Related Article:

NTB sets eyes on becoming an iconic place for pearls

Sixteen provinces to compete in Ambon Nat`l Sailing Championship

Antara News, Friday, May 7, 2010 13:46 WIB

Ambon, Maluku (ANTARA News) - At least 16 provinces have expressed readiness to participate in a National Sailing Championship 2010 in Maluku from July 20 - August 2 this year.

"Some 16 provinces have registered to take part in the event," local Indonesia Sailing Federation (Porlasi) spokesperson Hellen de Lima said here on Friday.

She said the provinces which had registered to participate in the event were among others Aceh, East Kalimantan, West Kalimantan, Southeast Sulawesi, South Sulawesi, East Java, and Jakarta.

According to Hellen, all kinds of competition in the National Sailing Championship would be conducted in Baguala Bay in Ambon`s Baguala subdistrict where a similar event also took place in 2006.

Based on a research and evaluation conducted by Porlasi, Baguala Bay was an appropriate venue for sailing and other water sports competitions because of its strategic location and favorable wind conditions.

"In addition, the local communities on the coasts of the bay will be able to witness the sailing competition from close by," Hellen said.

She said Porlasi was at present coordinating with the Indonesian Navy to borrow a ship to transport the sailing equipment of the competition participants from their respective provinces to Ambon.

"We are coordinating with the Navy chief of staff to get hold of a warship to transport the sailing equipment and other gear of the participants from their respective provinces to Ambon," Hellen said.

She said Maluku Governor Karel Albert Ralahalu had asked Porlasi to conduct the National Sailing Championship in Baguala Bay in Ambon in conjunction with the upcoming international marine event of Sail Banda 2010 scheduled from June 12 - August 17 this year.

Therefore, Hellen expressed hope that all elements of the public in the province would support the event and make it a success.

"The people of Ambon in particular and Maluku in general are expected to be good hosts by showing their hospitality to the participants of the event," she said.

Maritime minister planning Sail Lombok-Sumbawa 2012

Antara News, Friday, May 7, 2010 14:05 WIB

Lombok Barat, W Nusa Tenggara (ANTARA News) - Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Fadel Muhammad has made Sail Lombok-Sumbawa 2012 part of his program to support development of the tourism sector in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) province.

"It will be West Nusa Tenggara`s turn to host an international marine event, namely Sail Lombok-Sumbawa, in 2012," Fadel Muhamad said in the company of Culture and Tourism Minister Jero Wacik after harvesting Lombok pearl cultivation product at Senggigi resort on Thursday.

The pearl harvest was part of Lombok Sumbawa Pearl Festival 2010 which was centered at Sentosa Hotel on Senggigi tourist resort in Lombok Barat district.Fadel said the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry would continue to organize continuous sail event every year.

Last year was Sail Bunaken event in North Sulawesi and this year the similar event would be conducted in Maluku as Sail Banda 2010, next year it would probably be moved to Central Sulawesi as Sail Togean 2011, and in 2012 it will be called Sail Lombok-Sumbawa 2012 in West Nusa Tenggara.

Head of the Central Sulawesi cultural and tourism office Suaib Djafar said in Palu late last month that the office would organize Sail Togean 2011.

Djafar said the Central Sulawesi provincial administration would learn from the experiences of North Sulawesi in organizing `Sail Bunaken` and Maluku which would hold `Sail Banda`.

The Togean island chain is an ecological wonder located in Tojo Una-Una districy Central Sulawesi, about a 10-hour`s journey from Palu, the province`s capital.

Meanwhile, West Nusa Tenggara Governor Zainul Madji said he would continue to make things ready for the implementation of Sail Lombok-Sumbawa 2012.

He said the provincial administration would make every effort to improve supporting facilities of electricity, clean water, and telecommunication for the international marine event in the province.

"Besides hosting Sail Lombok-Sumbawa 2012, West Nusa Tenggara will also be ready to organize International Seaweed Forum in the same year," the NTB governor said.

RI ranked 11th as world fishery exporter

Antara News, Thursday, May 6, 2010 16:18 WIB

Manado, N Sulawesi (ANTARA News) - Indonesia is ranked 11th on the list of the world`s fishery exporter countries with exports worth US$1.79 billion, a trade official said.

"Indonesia`s market share in the world`s fishery exports accounts for 1.74 percent of the world`s total fishery exports," Djoko Purnomo, head of the fishery export affairs of the Directorate General of External Trade, said here on Thursday.

He said that the world`s fishery exports in 2008 were recorded at US$72.67 billion, or an increase of 7.94 percent if compared with that in 2005 which stood at US$57.66 billion.

Indonesia`s fishery product export destinations included the United States (29.04 percent), Japan (16.90 percent), China (3.66 percent), Hong Kong (3.14 percent), Singapore (3.05 percent), Thailand 2(.34 percent), Malaysia (2.23 percent) and South Korea (2.18 percent).

The country`s fishery exports were dominated by shrimps worth US$845 million (47 percent) followed by frozen fish valued at 228 million dollars, or 12 percent, fresh fish worth 225 million dollars (12 percent), fillet, fish meat and seaweeds.

According to Purnomo, Indonesia`s major exporter provinces in Indonesia`s western region included East Java, Jakarta, North Sumatra, Lampung and Central Java.

In the eastern region, major exporter provinces are South Sulawesi, Bali, Maluku, North Sulawesi and Central Sulawesi, he said.

Thousands of Ming artifacts secured from shipwreck in Java Sea

Erwida Maulia, The Jakarta Post, Subang, West Java | Wed, 05/05/2010 10:18 PM

Over 12,400 items of Chinese ceramics believed to originate from the Ming dynasty era have been secured from a ship wreck in Belanakan waters in Subang, West Java.

The ceramics have been gathered during the past month of diving operation around and into the wreck of 50 m x 20 m ship that lies 58 meters under the surface of Java Sea.

White ceramic plates, bowls and vases with blue motives, mostly floral, construct most found items; 40 percent of which are still in good condition.

"It is predicted to be a cargo ship sunken somewhere in 1,600s... Archaeologists believe, from the blue motives of the white ceramics, that they originate from the Ming dynasty," Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry's director general for surveillance and control, Aji Sularso, said aboard a patrol ship on Wednesday after surveying the lifting of the ceramics 48 miles off the coast of Belanakan.

"Given the large size of the cargo, we predict that we need to dive for a year to secure all of its precious loads, which may amount to 1 million pieces; larger than the number of items secured from the shipwreck in Cirebon."

Aji said he expected to find gold bars among the loads so as to cover the survey and lifting costs of the artifacts, predicted to exceed US$10 million, the total costs needed to secure loads of the Cirebon shipwreck offered in a bid also on Wednesday in Jakarta.

The presence of the shipwreck along with its loads in Belanakan waters was confirmed in a survey conducted between July and October last year, following some local fishermen's finding of ceramics in their fish nets.

The lifting of the artifacts, Aji said, began in early April, with 22 professional divers specially hired to secure the precious loads from the shipwreck and brought them to the surface.

The Indonesian government, through the national committee for shipwreck loads, is partnering with local private firm PT Comexindo to conduct the survey, as well as to secure and store the precious loads.

Related Article:

Java Sea shipwreck yields Ming bounty

Treasure Auction Flops

Jakarta Globe, Ulma Haryanto, May 05, 2010

National treasures: In this photo taken Tuesday, a security guard stands near wares salvaged from a wooden Chinese ship that sank more than 1,000 years ago in the Java Sea, on display in Pamulang, on the outskirts of Jakarta. A long awaited auction of the ancient treasures opened in the capital on Wednesday, but closed abruptly as there were no registered bidders. The auction, announced barely a week ago, had been expected to fetch at least $80 million for a collection of more than 270,000 pieces of valuable ceramic pots, jewelry and crystals dating back to the 10th century. JP - AP/Achmad Ibrahim

Going once, going twice, fail.

The highly anticipated — at least locally — auction of a 10th-century treasure trove valued at around $80 million flopped on Wednesday when not a single bidder bothered to show up.

Embarrassingly for local officials, the auctioneer was forced to abandon the auction at the Ministry of Fisheries in Central Jakarta just five minutes after it opened.

Adi Agung Tirtamarta, chief executive officer of PT Paradigma Putra Sejathera, the local partner of Belgian treasurer hunter Luc Heyman, said the failure indicated that it was clearly time for the government to revise its regulation requiring potential bidders to first pay a hefty deposit of $16 million, or 20 percent of the reserve price of $80 million.

Adi said the deposit requirement was unique to Indonesia.

The gems, crystal ware, gold and porcelain were salvaged from an unidentified wreck off Cirebon, West Java, in 2004.

A second auction is likely.

A 10th Century treasure from the wreck found off Cirebon, Java

Related Articles:

UNESCO chief concerned by auction of ancient artifacts

Indonesia treasure auction fails to attract bidders

Government Requests UNESCO’s Help in Auctioning Treasures

Police chase shipwreck treasure hunter

Government Investigating Foreign 'Treasure Hunter' After New Discovery

'Profound' decline in fish stocks shown in UK records

BBC News, By Richard Black, Tuesday, 4 May 2010 16:13 UK

Landings into UK ports in the 19th Century were four times higher than today

Over-fishing means UK trawlers have to work 17 times as hard for the same fish catch as 120 years ago, a study shows.

Researchers used port records dating from the late 1800s, when mechanised boats were replacing sailing vessels.

In the journal Nature Communications, they say this implies "an extrordinary decline" in fish stocks and "profound" ecosystem changes.

Four times more fish were being landed in UK ports 100 years ago than today, and catches peaked in 1938.

"Over a century of intensive trawl fishing has severely depleted UK seas of bottom living fish like halibut, turbot, haddock and plaice," said Simon Brockington, head of conservation at the Marine Conservation Society and one of the study's authors.

"It is vital that governments recognise the changes that have taken place (and) set stock protection and recovery targets that are reflective of the historical productivity of the sea."

Victorian values

In the late 1880s, the government set up inspectorates in major fishing ports in an attempt to monitor what fish were being landed.

"The records are prety reliable," said Callum Roberts from the UK's York University, another of the study authors.

"The Victorians were very assiduous about collecting information; and while some of the landings might have been missed from smaller ports, the larger ports were covered very efficiently," he told BBC News.

Around the same period, naturalist Walter Garstang was beginning to analyse "fishing power" - essentially, the capacity of a fleet to catch fish.

The biggest change over the period was from sail to engine power.

"With sail power, boats could only go at fixed times and only in certain places with a smooth sea bottom," Professor Roberts noted

"But when you got engines, that meant they could fish in any conditions of wind or tide and sea bed."

As waters near the coast became depleted, industrialisation also meant the UK fleet could travel further in search of new grounds - a phenomenon that took off after 1918.

But despite the growing power and range, the amount of fish caught for each unit of effort has gone drastically down, with 17 times more effort required now to catch the same amopunt of fish as compared with the late 1800s.

'Old news'

Philip MacMullen, head of environmental responsibility at the UK's industry-funded sustainability organisation Seafish, suggested that accenting the historical picture could obscure more recent improvements.

"It could be correct but I don't know, and I don't think the data support the findings," he said.

Fish such as plaice have been fished further and further afield

"But it's old news. Fifteen years ago we started understanding how badly management was working, and 10 years ago we started doing something about it."

Seafish points out that in the last decade, stocks of some species such as cod have shown increases.

But Professor Roberts counters that the long historical timeline in his study shows the recent improvements to be small in scale.

"If you get a 50% increase from 2% of a species' former abundance, you get to 3% of its former abundance, so you shouldn't celebrate too hard," he said.

"That's why this perspective is important."

Whereas UK fishermen tend to blame the EU's Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) for their economic problems, the authors of this study say it proves that depletion stems from mismanagament well before the CFP came into existence.

"There's nothing basically wrong with the CFP and not much wrong with the scientific research they receive," commented Dr MacMullen.

"But what happens to that advice when it goes up to the Council of Ministers - it's completely mis-managed."

RI, A`lian navies to conduct joint exercise in NTT

Antara News, Tuesday, May 4, 2010 21:06 WIB

Surabaya, E Java (ANTARA News) - Indonesian Navy (TNI-AL) and Australian Navy (RAN) elements grouped in the Cassoex-10 Task Force left for East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) on Tuesday to conduct a joint exercise.

The Indonesian Navy`s KRI Kerapu-812 and KRI Untung Suropati-872 departed from the Eastern Fleet Command Headquarters in Ujung, Surabaya, East Java.

The warships would be involved in a joint exercise with RAN elements for seven days in Kupang.

According to the chief of the Cassoex-10 Task Force, Lt Col Rudhi Aviantara, the exercise was scheduled to be opened by the commander of the VII Main Naval Base, Commodore Amri Husaini on May 12, 2010.

In the exercise, the RAN would deploy the warships HMAS Bathrust P-85 and HMAS Pirie P-87.

"The warships of the two navies would conduct a manouvering exercise in the Timor Sea and later in Australian waters while they would eventually dock at Darwin port," Rudhi said.

The two countries` navies had already held several exercises under the codename Cassoex. "The two navies consider the exercise mutually beneficial in terms of technical or tactical capabilities," he said.

Therefore, Rudhi hoped the exercises would continue to contribute positively to the boosting of the two countries` diplomatic relations.

NGO calls for probe into fishery mafia

The Jakarta Post | Tue, 05/04/2010 10:06 AM |

JAKARTA: An NGO calls for the Judicial Mafia Taskforce and the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to start looking into widespread corruption in the fisheries sector.

Kiara (People’s Coalition for Fishery Justice) secretary general M. Riza Damanik said time is high for law enforcers to bust corrupt practices at the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry.

He added that rife corruption at the ministry had been publicly reported by the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) and the KPK, which conducted an integrity survey in various ministries.

Riza said corruption occurred in the form of budget inefficiencies, abuse of permits and illegal levies at ports. In a case of abuse of permits, many local companies employ more foreign workers than the maximum 30 percent of total staff.

“The audit agency found that of the 1, 947 fishing vessel crew members it audited, 1,619, or 82 percent, were foreigners. How could that happen?” Riza said. — JP

Whale population in Indonesia decreases

English.news.cn 2010-05-03 13:24:26

JAKARTA, May 3 (Xinhua) -- Whale population in the waters of Indonesia's Lamalera has been decreasing in the last three years, supposedly caused by the mammal's movement, Kompas daily quoted residents as saying on Monday.

Traditional fishermen in Lamalera of East Nusa Tenggara province's Lembata regency, said that the decrease resulted in declining whale capture.

According to Martinus Hulu, a tribeman of Lelaona in Lamalera, whales captured in 2007 were about 30, decreasing to 20s in 2008 and two in 2009.

"So far this year we only had captured two in March," said Martinus on Sunday.

Katarina Beto Key, another resident of Lamalera, said the decreasing capture was a concern as people rely on the whale capture to support their economic needs.

People usually capture spermwhale or Physeter macrocephalus.

The Representative of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in Lembata regency, Februanti, said that she was not sure about the cause.

"We need a deeper analysis. However, it might be caused by natural factor or whale movement," she said.

RI to set up radar to monitor Ambalat, Tahuna waters

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sun, 05/02/2010 11:00 AM

The government said Sunday it planned to establish a radar system to monitor Ambalat waters in East Kalimantan and Tahuna waters in North Sulawesi, near the borders with Malaysia and the Philippines.

"When we complete the installation of the radar system in the two bodies of water, we will be able to monitor all ship movements in our waters," Defense Minister Purnomo said as quoted by kompas.com.

He said the radar would help prevent weapon smuggling, terrorism, illegal fishing and waste disposal activities.

Purnomo was on a working visit to Miangas and Marore Islands, North Sulawesi when he issued the statement.

Police chase shipwreck treasure hunter

Bagus BT Saragih, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 04/30/2010 9:48 AM

Facing jail ... Queensland treasure hunter Mike Hatcher. (brisbanetimes)

Authorities are hunting Michael Hatcher, a foreign shipwreck treasure hunter believed to be operating in Indonesian waters.

Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Fadel Muhammad said Thursday he dispatched a joint investigation team to pursue Hatcher.

“I have received many reports about [Hatcher] and his illegal activities. I told my men to monitor Hatcher’s movements at sea,” Fadel told The Jakarta Post.

National Police chief detective Comr. Gen. Ito Sumardi confirmed a team of water police had been assigned to arrest Hatcher.

“We have identified his boat. We are now monitoring his activities,” Ito said.

Fadel said he did not know Hatcher very well. “But since I began serving as a minister in 2009, [Hatcher’s] name has been mentioned as a famous treasure hunter,” the Golkar politician said.

Hatcher has been widely known as a shipwreck treasure hunter since the 1980s.

Hatcher is believed to be an Australian national, but reports say he may hold both British and Australian passports.

His main area of operations is reportedly the Malacca Strait between Sumatra and Malaysia, Bangka-Belitung, Java, and in the South China Sea near Thailand.

According to Endro Soebekti Sadjiman, the coordinator of NGOs grouped in the National Assets Rescue Consortium, Hatcher’s latest operation was in Blanakan waters, Subang regency, West Java.

Endro said he believed Hatcher was after porcelain from the Ming dynasty.

“A porcelain plate or bowl from that era could fetch US$20,000. If there are thousands down there, just imagine the losses the state may suffer [if they’re stolen],” he said.

According to the consortium, Hatcher went to Blanakan following his recent discovery of the wreck of a Dutch ship named De Geldermalsen in East Bintan, Riau Islands, from which he recovered Chinese porcelain that was sold at auction in Amsterdam for $20 million.

“There are many other ‘Hatchers’,” Endro claimed.

Head of the National Committee of Excavation and Utilization of Valuable Objects from Sunken Ships at the ministry, Aji Sularso, said the joint team of investigators began hunting Hatcher two months ago.

The team comprises officers from the water police, Navy, police, and civil servant investigators from the Culture and Tourism Ministry.

“Hatcher is smart. He moves quickly and unpredictably if he thinks we’re on to him,” Aji told the Post.

The 2002 Cultural and Heritage Law stipulates that illegal treasure hunting is punishable by up to five years in prison and Rp 50 million ($5,500) in fine.

“Hatcher can also be charged under the Criminal Code on theft of state assets,” Aji said.

Aji said the government had identified 493 shipwreck sites across Indonesia, many of which have been looted.

“Most of the ships were Dutch, Chinese, and Portuguese which sank in the 1600s,” he said.

According to Aji, there are currently six companies permitted to salvage underwater treasure.

The law states that half of the haul’s proceeds belong to the state.

Related Articles:

Treasure Hunter Resurfaces to Deny Theft Allegations

Deep sea plunder: Gold Coast salvager in shipwreck row

Government Investigating Foreign 'Treasure Hunter' After New Discovery

Dumai coastal erosion reaches ‘alarming pace’

Rizal Harahap, The Jakarta Post, Pekanbaru | Fri, 04/30/2010 10:07 AM

The coast of Dumai in Riau province is facing further coastal erosion due to damage to mangrove swamps, resulting in tides from the Malacca Strait slam against the shore, eroding up to 7 meters of coastline annually.

One of the worst-affected locations is Puak Beach in Teluk Makmur subdistrict in Medang Kampai.

Local community leader M. Nasir Efendi said the land between the coast the main road in the village had receded by more than 250 meters.

“When it was built in 1956, the distance between the road and the coast was around 300 meters, but now, during high tides, seawater reaches some sections of the 5-kilometer road,” Nasir told The Jakarta Post.

He added that residents had repeatedly requested government action to reclaim the coastline to save the village from high tides, but that the local administration had only built a wave barrier.

“What else can we do? The cost of coastal reclamation is too high, but residents still hope a dam will be built along the whole coast,” he said, adding that currently, only on a small stretch of the coast had a dam.

Nasir estimates that Teluk Makmur subdistrict would be washed away in the next 15 years without immediate action.

“If the rate of abrasion is on average 5 meters annually, the sea would reach the village in the next 10 years,” he said.

Dumai Environmental Agency head Zulfa Indra said the pace of coastal erosion in Dumai had reached an alarming level.

Apart from eroding land, he added that the waves could also extend the cliffs along the coast up to two meters inland.

Coastal erosion is not limited to Teluk Makmur subdistrict, he said. The coast along Pelintung Industrial Zone is also undergoing rapid erosion. “A large part of the mangrove swamps that previously served as a coastal barrier have vanished,” he said.

“Changes in land use have caused widespread mangrove forest destruction.

“Mangrove swamps still remain in a number of locations, but they are still young and require special care and supervision,” he added.

Zulfa said his agency faced difficulties curbing the pace of coastal erosion due to limited funds.

Last year, he said, the Dumai city budget allocated only Rp 3 billion (US$330,000) to maintain coastal areas, forcing the agency to postpone coastal barrier projects in a number of locations.

“The available funds won’t cover the length of coast that need to be protected from the waves,” Zulfa said.

He expressed hope that the Dumai municipality would approve the Rp 5 billion budget proposed by his agency for coastal maintenance this year, adding that the funds would be used to continue delayed projects and mangrove reforestation carried out over the past year.

“The budget approval very much determines the pace of mitigation efforts of coastal erosion that has threatened the lives of local people,” he said.

Zulfa said his agency had replanted 10,000 mangrove seedlings in a number of areas prone to coastal erosion, of which only 60 percent would survive, while the rest are expected to die or be swept away by waves.

“Only mature plants can survive the pace of erosion, that’s why we still need maintenance funds for the next several years to ensure the young plants continue to thrive.

“Young mangrove trees cannot mature naturally in current conditions as they could be swept away by waves.

“These young trees are also prone to forest clearing, so they must be tended to and supervised,” he said.

Nasir estimates that Teluk Makmur subdistrict would be washed away in the next 15 years without immediate action.