Shocking Dolphin Catching Video In Pacitan, East Java, Allegedly Carried Out By Immigrant Fishermen

JAKARTA - The All-Indonesian Fishermen Association (HNSI) of Pacitan Regency stated that the perpetrators of catching marine mammals of the long-nosed dolphin in Pacitan waters, East Java, were suspected of being "andon" (immigrant) fishermen.

Chairman of the All-Indonesian Fishermen Association (HNSI) of Pacitan Regency, Damhudi said, after his party traced information on the network of administrators and members who were active around the Tamperan Beach Fishing Port, Sunday, January 9.

"We received information from members in the field, it turns out that the captain and owner of the boat are not native Pacitan fishermen. But 'andon' fishermen from Trenggalek," Damhudi said, quoted from Antara.

He admitted that he was concerned and regretted the incident. However, Damhudi also does not believe that the case was purely intentional.

"It could be that the dolphin (long-beaked common dolphin or the Latin name delphinus) was caught in fishing nets and carried up on the deck," he said.

Damhudi admitted that cases of dolphin deaths due to being caught in nets were relatively rare. Even if something is caught and can be saved, fishermen will usually release it.

The existence of dolphins has been a good sign for fishermen in Pacitan.

The reason is, the appearance of dolphins will usually be followed by the presence of small fish that become prey or prey.

"So the dolphins actually help fishermen to catch fish. If the Javanese say 'driving iwak' (driving fish)," he continued.

Apart from that, Damhudi respects the investigation process currently being carried out by the police.

There are four crew members who are currently still undergoing examination at the Pacitan Police Headquarters. Meanwhile, 23 other crew members will also be examined in turns, in order to reveal the alleged capture of seven long-snout dolphins, as the video that had circulated viral on social media.

In the video upload, the seven dolphins are on the deck of the ship in a dead condition. The picture taker is thought to be one of the crew members on the ship that was raided by a joint team of Polair, TNI AL, and the Pacitan Police on Saturday, January 8th.

However, during the search, officers did not find any evidence of dolphins on the ship's deck.

According to the crew, the dolphins caught in nets and carried to the top of the ship's deck were dumped into the sea before docking back at the Tamperan Harbor pier.