KKP Capture 116 Illegal Fishing Vessels, Total Loss Reaches IDR 3.4 Trillion

Director General of Supervision of Marine and Fishery Resources (PSDKP) Pung Nugroho Saksono (photo: Theresia Agatha/VOI)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) managed to arrest as many as 116 vessels caught illegally fishing (illegal fishing) in Indonesian waters until September 2024.

Director General of Marine and Fishery Resources Supervision (PSDKP) Pung Nugroho Saksono said the cumulative total loss caused by the illegal fishing vessels reached Rp3.4 trillion.

"Now approximately (the total cumulative loss) is IDR 3.4 trillion. 116 ships (which have been arrested", said the man who was familiarly called Ipunk when met at the KKP office, Monday, September 23.

Ipunk said most of the vessels captured were small vessels that used the Indonesian flag. Meanwhile, several large vessels caught came from the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, and one Russian-flagged ship.

"Most of them are Indonesian fishing vessels. But the big ones are from outside. Vietnam is then Malaysia, the Philippines and one Russia. We confiscated the Russian ship to be our supervisory ship," he said.

According to Ipunk, most of the illegal fishing disclosures can be carried out due to reports from local residents, especially those who are members of the Supervisory Community Group or Pokmaswas.

Because, he said, most of the fish 'thief' vessels in the Indonesian sea do not use the Automatic Identification System (AIS) or Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) technology. Thus, it is difficult to detect by the surveillance system.

"(The disclosure is because) information from the public. We have Pokmaswas in this case, the supervisory community group that is our eyes and ears in the field. It turns out that it is not enough with technology, they do not use AIS, just escape. When they do not use AIS, technology cannot penetrate it. We still have ears in the field, namely the supervisory community group," he said.