Roti fin fishers caught in legal loop in Australia

Roti fin fishers caught in legal loop in Australia

The Australian government has been trying to persuade the
Indonesian government to take action against shark-fin fishers
poaching in northern Australian waters. This has become a big
issue in Australia with claims that waves of boats are illegally
plundering the seas. The Jakarta Post's contributor Duncan Graham
reports:

They shuffle into the Perth Magistrate's Court, stand calmly
to hear the charges read, then sit to hear the evidence. This is
given in English but interpreted into Rotinese.

Crewmembers are usually prosecuted for fishing illegally in
Australian waters. Captains are also charged with commercial
fishing without a license.

They wear tracksuits and other warm clothes donated by
Australian government agencies, for this summer the Western
Australian capital has been unseasonably chilly. They're
apprehensive and worried about their families but the legal
process has been explained and they know jail is almost certain.

Some are better informed -- they've been through the system
before. This seems to undermine Australian government claims that
sentences are a deterrent.

"About a quarter to a third are repeat offenders," lawyer
David McKenzie told The Jakarta Post.

"As their defense counsel I hear their stories and take their
instructions. So far all have pleaded guilty.

"I argue before the magistrate that it's inappropriate to
impose a large fine on poor people who just can't pay. Although
they be sentenced to jail if they are first offenders, they get
imprisoned nonetheless because they can't pay the fines. These
vary from AUD$3,000 to AUD$6,000 (Rp 22 million to Rp 44
million).

"So they have to cut out the fines at the rate of AUD$150 (Rp
1.1 million) for every day in detention. Sometimes the days spent
in custody before the court hearings are taken into account.

"Those with medical problems get treated. After a few days or
weeks in jail they're flown back to Indonesia by the Australian
government. The Indonesian consulate isn't involved."

Since July McKenzie has represented 120 Indonesian fishermen
in Perth courts. He's been the only lawyer defending the
poachers and works for Legal Aid, an organization funded by the
Australian and Western Australian governments. The service is
free.

"I tell the court that my clients are all poor and motivated
by the necessity to live," he said. "Most have large families to
support -- one man had 16 children.

"Fishing is the only industry in Roti and other small islands.
Indonesian waters have been fished out. So the men are tempted
to stray into Australian waters which in the past have been their
traditional fishing grounds."

Allegations of 8,000 sightings of Indonesian fishing boats in
one year in Australian waters have infuriated a public already
hardened against its neighbor because of terrorist attacks in
Bali and Jakarta. So have claims that the waters will become a
marine desert if the plunder continues.

A poll by The West Australian newspaper found most respondents
wanted poachers to get longer jail terms. More than half
believed Australia should reduce foreign aid if Indonesia didn't
do more to stop illegal fishers. Politicians have rejected this
idea.

Stories that the fishers are landing animals and plants on
Australian shores in defiance of quarantine laws, and that the
men could be a terrorism risk have not been proved.

The catch is confiscated and the boats and gear are burned or
sunk. However these were usually owned by companies in Indonesia
and not by the crews, McKenzie said.

Despite the big number of sightings only 240 foreign vessels
have been caught this year for fishing illegally.

The rest escape back to Indonesian waters when they spot an
Australian patrol craft. The Opposition Labor Party and
Australian fishing organizations have called for more patrol
boats to be deployed.

Western Australian Fisheries minister Jon Ford reportedly
claimed up to 25,000 tonnes of shark is being taken every year.
The fins are popular as a Chinese banquet soup. The surge in
demand has been linked to growing prosperity in China.

Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer has
announced an AUD$300,000 (Rp 2,200 million) campaign to alert the
fishers to the impact and consequences of their actions.

McKenzie said not all poachers were prosecuted. Men under 18
were flown straight back to Indonesia accompanied by an adult
crewmember. Some poachers caught further east have been charged
in Darwin.

"If all were charged and convicted there wouldn't be enough
room in the State's jails," he said. "This is a sad situation.
Rather than just being prosecutorial some assistance should be
given to create work projects in Indonesia. (The Indonesian
consul in Perth, Dr Aloysius Madja has been in Roti to
investigate alternative industries

"There has to be a better way. We must have rules but they
are not addressing the cause of the problem: Poverty."