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.