For Six Months, 42 NTT Fishermen Returned From Australia

Illustration (Photo: Doc. Antara)

The Office of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DKP) of East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) Province noted that 42 fishermen had been sent home from Australia from January to mid-June in 2023.

"This number is higher than the number of fishermen who have been sent home since 2022 because (at that time) only a few people," said Head of the NTT DKP Stefania Boro as quoted by Antara, Wednesday, June 28.

According to him, if it is calculated from 2018 to June 2023, the number of NTT fishermen who have been repatriated from Australia is approximately 59 people.

"If the number of our fishing boats that were detained and burned is only two units, because one ship can reach 20 or more fishermen," he added.

He explained that a number of fishermen who were repatriated by Australia were fishermen who previously caught fish and entered Australian waters.

In fact, he continued, there is one point according to the Indonesia-Australia agreement called the MoU Box in the Australian area which can be taken by fishermen from Indonesia.

Therefore, the public campaign by the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) together with the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) is expected to be a concern for fishermen in Kupang.

This was also acknowledged by AFMA International Compliance Operations Manager Lydia Woodhouse who stated that the arrests of fishermen from NTT were unreasonable.

According to Lydia, most of the NTT fishermen who were arrested for violating territorial borders and catching fish were not using sailing boats.

In addition, the fishermen who were arrested also took sea cucumbers in the MoU Box area which were basically prohibited by mutual agreement.

"We prohibit ships that use machines to catch MoU Box fish that have been mutually agreed upon between our government (Australia) and Indonesia," he said.