Fish poachers cost RI $4 billion

Fish poachers cost RI $4 billion

MALANG, East Java: Illegal fishing in Indonesian waters by poachers from several countries had cost the country up to US$4 billion annually in lost revenues, a minister said on Saturday.

Minister of Maritime and Fishery Affairs Rochmin Dahuri said in Malang after attending a doctoral test session at Brawijaya University that foreign fishermen were stealing, on average, between a million and 1.5 million tons of fish per year from Indonesia.

He complained that the high rate of poaching was due mainly to the small number of inefficiently operated patrol ships in Indonesia, with only four operating in Banda - Belitung, Ketapang - West Kalimantan, South Sulawesi and Jakarta.

With its vast territorial waters, he hoped his ministry would be allocated funding for at least 75 more patrol vessels in order to control the problem.

He added that his ministry would have four more boats next year for Nias Island, Merauke, West Sumatra and West Nusa Tenggara.

Nevertheless, Indonesia's sea fishery production has increased this year to 5.3 million tons from only 3.7 million tons last year, mostly with exports to Japan, North America and Europe. --Antara