Govt plans to seize, ban fishing ships from Taiwan

Govt plans to seize, ban fishing ships from Taiwan

Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Freddy Numberi will
issue a decree on Wednesday that will ban the import of used
fishing vessels from Taiwan that are operated by local companies
allegedly to smuggle fish from Indonesia to Taiwan.

The decree will also allow the ministry to seize the ships and
include a temporary ban on the importation of used fishing
vessels from Taiwan.

"Currently, there are 523 used vessels imported from Taiwan
operating in Indonesian waters. But they are not equipped with
official certificates. The vessels are used for illegal fishing,"
the minister told a press conference on Tuesday.

Freddy said the vessel owners allegedly faked their deletion
certificates issued by Taiwan authorities. The document is to
confirm that the vessel is no longer registered in that country.

Using the fake documents, the vessels are operated by
Indonesian crew and fly the Indonesian flag. They could freely
operate in Taiwan to unload their catches, which were netted
illegally in Indonesian waters, he added.

The ministry will give two weeks for the vessel operators to
seek an official deletion certificate, otherwise the government
will seize and auction the vessels. The vessels comprise of 105
long-liner and troller vessels and 418 gill-netter vessels, with
a price tag of at least Rp 10 billion (US$1.1 million) each.

However, the ministry will not ban or seize Taiwan-made
vessels belonging to Taiwanese fishing processing plants in
Indonesia or property of Taiwanese company in partnership with
local companies.

The policy will also exclude fishing vessels that unload their
fishing products in Indonesia or sell them to their Indonesian
partners.

Freddy said the policy was part of the government's efforts to
combat rampant illegal fishing in Indonesian waters by foreign
vessels, which has caused the country billions of dollars and to
protect local fishermen.

"I urge Taiwanese fishermen to go into partnership with an
Indonesian company to process their catches from Indonesian
waters. This is to avoid fish smuggling in our country," he said.

The ministry revoked the operating licenses of 155 fishing
vessels between October and November for fake deletion
certificates, thus avoiding Rp 501.13 billion in state losses.

To avoid the misuse of fishing licenses by overseas vessels,
the ministry also plans to gradually reduce the importation of
used ships from overseas.

At present, there are 705 registered fishing vessels from
overseas, with some 302 vessels from Thailand, 286 from China and
117 from the Philippines.

Freddy said the government would hold bilateral talks with
several countries to reduce the number of fishing licenses for
foreign fishing vessels. However, he added, the government would
not negotiate with Taiwan since Indonesia has adopted the One
China policy.

An executive of the Taiwan Economic and Trade Office in
Indonesia, Daniel Lin, said his office has yet to get details on
the new policy and would seek confirmation from the ministry.