Indonesian fisherman dies in Darwin custody

Indonesian fisherman dies in Darwin custody

Deutsche Presse-Agentur, Sydney, Australia

An Indonesian fisherman charged with poaching has died while in
custody on a boat in Darwin, Northern Territory police said on
Friday.

The death of the 37-year-old, the master of a boat caught
fishing illegally in Australian waters last week, is not
considered suspicious.

The man is the second Indonesian fisherman to die while
detained on a boat in a quarantined area of the harbor in the
past two years. In 2003, 21-year-old Mansur La Ibu died while in
custody with six others.

Australia is currently conducting its biggest-ever crackdown
on poaching by Indonesian fishing vessels. So far this month
Operation Clearwater has resulted in the arrest of 240 crew and
the impounding of 27 boats.

Fisheries Minister Ian Macdonald said poaching was turning
from a cottage industry into a well-organized criminal activity.
"It is very big," Macdonald said. "It's become increasingly
transnational in its form as our intelligence is discovering."

He appealed to Jakarta to crackdown on vessels straying into
Australian waters.

"Regrettably it's not an area of policy where the Indonesian
government, given all of its other priorities, is able to give
this the priority perhaps that we would like," he said.

The boats, which go after shark fin and reef fish, are
equipped with sophisticated navigational gear and global
positioning systems. When the boats are apprehended the captains
and senior fishing masters are arrested and charged while the
crew are taken to the airport and repatriated. The boats are
impounded and then sunk or sold for scrap.