Foreign fishermen jailed in Sumatra

Foreign fishermen jailed in Sumatra

PADANG, West Sumatra: The Padang District Court sentenced to jail
on Tuesday 21 fishermen for operating large trawling nets in the
North Sumatra waters. The 21 fishermen from Thailand, Myanmar and
Indonesia received various jail sentence ranging from two months
to two years in prison.

The defendants were arrested by officials from the West
Sumatra Maritime Affairs Office when they went fishing on Dec. 4,
2004 in waters off Sikara-kara near the border between North
Sumatra and West Sumatra provinces.

The use of trawling nets is prohibited as they damage coral
reefs and the delicate marine ecosystem. -- JP