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)