Govt to issue new policy on foreign fishing vessels

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries H. Rohmin Dauri said on Wednesday that the government would introduce a new licensing policy next month which would allow foreign flag ships to fish in Indonesia's exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

Rohmin said that under the new policy, the government would only give fishing licenses to foreign ships of more than 100- deadweight-ton size to operate in the zone.

Rohmin said the government would also impose a levy on foreign flag ships for the license.

"The new policy will come into effect in early August at the latest. We're still negotiating the amount of the licensing fee," Rohmin said following a one-day seminar on the new policy.

Rohmin said the new policy was designed to crack down on illegal fishing activities by foreign vessels using Indonesian flags.

"Many foreign fishing vessels collaborate with local fishing companies and use the Indonesian flag, instead of their own, to avoid existing regulations," he said.

Indonesia has long allowed foreign fishing companies to operate in Indonesia's EEZ in line with a ruling from the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982, which stipulates that every country must assess its capacity to manage bio- resources in its EEZ waters and that it must allow other countries to explore resources within its EEZ waters if it cannot manage them in accordance with the existing conventions, agreements and regulations.

The UN convention states, however, that foreign fishing companies should abide by the host country's laws.

Using a loophole in the convention, the government imposed a strict ruling on foreign fish companies to obtain licenses.

This has forced those companies to buy licenses from local "fishing companies" who can easily obtain them.

Rokhmin labeled local fishing companies, which sold their fishing licenses to foreign fishing vessels, as "paper companies".

Rohmin estimated that illegal fishing practices cost the state about US$1.4 billion in total losses annually.

By flying the Indonesian flag, foreign fishing vessels can escape paying the fees imposed on foreign flag ships.

"They also enjoy subsidized fuel for their operations while selling their catch overseas," he said.

Rohmin said under the new policy, the ministry would form a task force to review fishing licenses already issued to ensure the ownership status of the fishing vessel.

"The task force will reexamine the ownership status of fishing boats and will revoke their license if they are found to violate the existing regulation on ownership status."

Rohmin said about 70 percent of the 7,000 fishing ships operating in the country's waters were foreign vessels.

But noted economist Emil Salim warned that the new policy would speed up overfishing as the policy would prompt many foreign vessels with more advanced technology to operate in Indonesia's EEZ.

Emil doubted the new policy could be implemented effectively as it was not supported by strong supervision.

"There have been massive thefts carried out in the country's waters. There is no guarantee that the legal supervision of foreign fishing boats' activities in the country's waters can be implemented effectively," Emil said.

Rohmin, however, dismissed the concern, saying that Indonesian waters had the potential of producing 6.3 million tons of fish and other marine products per year compared to the actual annual yield of four million tons.

Rokhmin said the annual yield could still be considered sustainable if it accounted for 80 percent of the available resources.

"Thus, there is still about 1.3 million tons of fish and other marine products available in Indonesian waters to support sustainable exploration," Rokhmin said. (03)