House endorses new law on fishery

Dadan Wijaksana, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

The House of Representatives endorsed on Tuesday a new law on fisheries, which not only stipulates a more sustainable way of exploiting sea resources, but also stern punishments, including jail terms and heavy fines for illegal fishing activities.

The enactment of the law, after about a year of deliberation, is expected to help reduce rampant illegal fishing activities in the country's waters, which have caused the state trillions of rupiah in losses annually, Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Rokhmin Dahuri said.

Rokhmin said that, even before the enactment of the law, the maritime and fisheries ministry -- set up in 2000 -- had managed to scale down the number of foreign ships operating illegally in the country's territory from some 7,000 to just above 1,000, saving about US$3 billion in potential losses per year.

"We expect to reduce that figure even more after the enactment of the law," he said.

The sheer size of Indonesia's waters -- with a total area of some 5.8 million square kilometers -- offers enormous economic potential, with no less than 6.4 million tons of fish caught yearly.

However, illegal fishing in Indonesian waters is widespread and mostly carried out by foreigners.

Under the new law, any party proven guilty of illegal activity in the sea -- including illegal fishing, or fishing that is not in line with existing regulations, such as the use of explosive materials -- could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison or a Rp 2 billion (US$217 million) fine.

The law also says the ministry is allowed to auction seized ships and equipment used for illegal fishing. The money could be used, in part, to provide financial incentives for qualified law enforcers.

The law also specifies a particular time frame, from the investigation to the trial process, to ensure legal certainty.

To improve law enforcement, Rokhmin said, the law paved the way for the establishment of a special court to specifically deal with cases related to maritime affairs and fisheries.

While it would be under the district court in certain areas, the special court would be independently in charge of processing and handing down verdicts related to such cases. The verdicts would be delivered by a board of three judges -- one district court career judge and two ad hoc judges.

"With this special court, any case can hopefully be processed within a short period. Probably a month, which is important to create legal certainty," Rokhmin said.

The law will effectively replace Law No.9/1985 on fisheries.