The Indonesian Navy warship, the KRI Sutedi Senaputra-378, intercepted two vessels, one from Malaysia and one from Thailand, for allegedly carrying out illegal fishing in Natuna waters, Riau Islands, during a sea patrol in the area on Friday.
The arrest has highlighted rampant and ongoing illegal fishing activity conducted by foreign-flagged vessels in Indonesian waters due to weak enforcement.
The Navy’s Western Fleet (Armabar) spokesperson, Ariris Miftachurrahman, told The Jakarta Post on Saturday that based on information provided by the KRI Sutedi Senaputra, during a sea patrol in Natuna waters code-named Operasi Rakata Jaya (Rakata Jaya Operation) the warship’s radar system picked up two signals later found to be foreign fishing vessels.
When we caught them, the two vessels were in Indonesia-Malaysia border waters, around 50 kilometers from Tarempa, Natuna. We later processed them for illegal fishing [in Indonesian waters], said Ariris.
He added that based on the results of a preliminary investigation, the Malaysian-flagged vessel, MV. KNF 7424, contained nine crew members comprising six Thai citizens and three Myanmar citizens.
Meanwhile, the Thailand-flagged vessel, MV. Kour Son 77, contained six crew members, comprising two Thai citizens, three from Myanmar and one from Laos. Both vessels and all crew members are currently being processed at the Navy base in Tarempa, Natuna Islands.
Meanwhile, the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry’s resources supervision unit head in Batam, Akhmadon, said illegal fishing by foreign vessels was on the rise partly due to weak enforcement and too lenient punishments meted out to perpetrators.
2014 PT. Niskala Media Tenggara