The Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry’s patrol ship Hiu 008 has intercepted two Vietnamese-owned fishing vessels in Natuna waters, Riau Islands, for alleged illegal fishing. The vessels’ 10 crew members — all of them Vietnamese — were arrested during the raid.
The ministry’s head of maritime and fishery resources surveillance in Batam, Akhmadon, told The Jakarta Post on Monday that at around 3 p.m. local time on Friday March 29, the patrol ship Hiu 008 spotted two Vietnamese-flagged trawlers fishing illegally in Indonesian waters.
After examining their documents, is was discovered that the ships had no permits; so, we pulled them into Batam for due process. The crew members are also being detained here [Batam], said Akhmadon.
The two Vietnamese trawlers, the BV 0054 TS with three crew and the BV 4633 TS with seven crew, were fishing with the use of trawls considered illegal under Indonesian law.
During the operation, officials found 1,000 kilograms of fish and even sea snakes. They caught the fish using trawls. As the result, many other sea creatures such as sea snakes were caught, said Akhmadon.
During initial questioning, the Vietnamese crew admitted they had been promised higher wages if they caught fish from Indonesian waters illegally.
If found guilty, the fishermen may face more than five years in prison and Rp 20 billion (US$2.05 million) in fines as stipulated by Law No.31/2004 on fisheries.
PT. Bina Media Tenggara © 2012