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🇮🇩 Indonesia /Elections & Politics

Indonesia lawmaker urges modern fishing fleet for anti-illegal fishing patrols

From Republika · () Indonesian

Translated from Indonesian, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Context piece
  • A member of the Indonesian House of Representatives' Commission IV urges the government to direct its modern fishing vessel program towards combating illegal fishing.
  • He stressed that advanced vessels should be deployed in areas prone to foreign fishing, such as Natuna and the Arafura Sea, rather than overfished regions.
  • The legislator also called for strengthening law enforcement and maritime surveillance to tackle the persistent issue of illegal fishing in Indonesian waters.

Rokhmin Dahuri, a member of Indonesia's House of Representatives Commission IV, is pushing the government to strategically deploy its modern fishing fleet to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. He insists that these advanced vessels should patrol waters vulnerable to foreign poaching, specifically naming areas like Natuna, the Arafura Sea, and the borders with the Philippines and Pacific waters.

Dahuri cautioned against sending new modern vessels to already overfished areas. Instead, he argued, they should be used to exploit fish resources in regions where foreign vessels have been stealing them. He highlighted that illegal fishing remains a significant challenge for Indonesia, despite various programs undertaken by the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries.

Don't keep deploying modern fishing vessels to areas that are already overfished. They should be used to exploit fish resources in the sea areas that have been stolen by foreign vessels.

— Rokhmin DahuriDuring a working meeting with the Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries in Jakarta.

"Illegal fishing is a major structural problem in the maritime and fisheries sector that has not been adequately addressed. It is still rampant," Dahuri stated. He proposed a two-pronged strategy: first, increasing the presence of Indonesian fishermen in contested waters by acquiring more modern vessels, potentially with soft loans from the UK. He noted that Indonesia's fleet of large vessels (over 30 gross tons) is small, with only about 3,600 out of 800,000 total fishing vessels, contributing to the prevalence of foreign fishing activities.

Second, Dahuri advocated for enhanced maritime surveillance and law enforcement. He believes the current budget for surveillance operations is insufficient for Indonesia's vast waters. He emphasized that improved surveillance must be coupled with strengthening coastal communities' economic activities through more modern vessels, fisherman training, and developing processing industries in border areas.

Illegal fishing is a major structural problem in the maritime and fisheries sector that has not been adequately addressed. It is still rampant.

— Rokhmin DahuriCommenting on the persistent issue of illegal fishing in Indonesian waters.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Republika in Indonesian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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