Five Thai ships nabbed for poaching off Bawean island<\/p>\n
ID Nugroho, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya, East Java<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Navy has apprehended five Thailand-registered
\nships for alleged poaching in Indonesian waters near Bawean
\nisland, about an hour by boat from Surabaya, the capital of East
\nJava province, an official said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The five ships, all displaying the Thai flag, were arrested on
\nSunday morning by the Navy's Tanjung Dalpele warship.<\/p>\n
Lt. Col. Prasetyo, the captain of the Tanjung Dalpele, said
\nthat the names of the ships were the Siriwan Pen, the Cucut
\nGergaji IV, the Cucut Martil II, the Cucut Martil III and the
\nDelta Pusaka 9.<\/p>\n
The Siriwan Pen was the largest of them, measuring 40 meters
\nlong and eight meters wide, he said, adding that the ship had 29
\ncrew members. \"Most of the crew members are Thai citizens,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The ship can accommodate 250 tons of fish.<\/p>\n
During the arrest on Sunday, the Navy also seized hundreds of
\ntons of fish from the ships.<\/p>\n
Separately, Lt. Col. Guntur Wahyudi, the spokesman of
\nIndonesian Navy's Eastern Fleet, said that the crew members had
\nallegedly violated a law on fishery that carries a maximum
\nsentence of five years in jail.<\/p>\n
Fish poaching, especially by foreign poachers, has been
\nrampant in Indonesia for years, and accounts for huge losses.<\/p>\n
Arrests have become more frequent in the last two years as
\nforeign poachers, often using far more modern ships and equipment
\nthan local fishermen, seek new fishing grounds.<\/p>\n
Local authorities often complain about a lack of vessels and
\nto guard Indonesia's vast waterways from foreign encroachment.<\/p>\n
The number of foreign boats illegally fishing here was
\nestimated to have reached some 5,000 boats annually, causing
\nyearly losses of US$4 billion to the state, according to Minister
\nof Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Rokhmin Dahuri recently.<\/p>\n
But with greater emphasis and a larger budget to combat the
\npoaching, he added, the number of boats had decreased.<\/p>",
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