Minister vows to curb illegal fishing in RI territory

Minister vows to curb illegal fishing in RI territory
DAMAR SUSANTO
The Jakarta Post
Jakarta

Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Rokhmin Dahuri said
on Tuesday that his office had prepared a set of measures to curb
illegal fishing by foreign vessels in the country's territory.

Rokhmin said the target was to greatly reduce the number of
illegal foreign fishing vessels operating in Indonesian waters.

"Of approximately 4,900 fishing vessels operating illegally in
the country's waters (every year), we will reduce them by 25
percent this year, 50 percent the next year and so on," he said
on the sidelines of a hearing with the House of Representatives'
Commission III for agriculture and fisheries affairs.

He said that illegal fishing activities cost the state US$1.4
billion (Rp 1.3 trillion) in financial losses per year.

The various measures include a reregistering of fishing
vessels operating in the country and the use of high-tech
satellite communications devices, Rokhmin said, without
elaborating.

According to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of
the Sea, foreign fishing vessels are allowed to enter the
country's exclusive economic zone (EEZ), but they must also abide
by Indonesian law.

The Indonesian government imposes stringent ruling on foreign
fishing vessels operating in the EEZ, but has a more relaxed
stance for local fishing companies.

According to the existing ruling, for example, foreign fishing
vessels entering the country's territory must pay a fee to the
government.

But Rokhmin said that many of the foreign vessels had bought
the fishing licenses issued to local fishing companies to escape
the tight ruling. He said that many local "paper companies" had
been given fishing licenses by the government, but would resell
them to foreign fishing vessels.

Rokhmin said that about 70 percent of 7,000 foreign vessels
operating in the country used the Indonesian flag to enable them
to freely fish local resources and sell them overseas.

Fishing vessels flying the Indonesia flag could also obtain
subsidized fuel from the government, he said.

"We have started to review fishing licenses already issued to
ensure the ownership status of the fishing vessels," Rokhmin
said.

He said that the ministry would revoke a license if it found a
violation against existing regulations on ownership status. (dmr)