JAKARTA - The Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries has arrested foreign vessels perpetrating illegal fishing for the umpteenth time entering Indonesian sea territory. This time, two Filipino ships were captured along with 21 crew members.
Reported by the kkp.go.id site, Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries Edhy Prabowo explained that the arrest of two Philippine ships with hull numbers VMC-188 and LB VIENT-21 was the result of the operation of the Orca 04 Supervisory Ship on Thursday, October 1, 2020 in the Fisheries Management Area (WPP) 717 Pacific Ocean.
"One large ship measuring 105.90 GT uses a purse seine device. The other is 20.62 GT, a type of light boat," explained Edhy, Tuesday, October 6.
The arrest of a foreign vessel in Pacific Ocean waters is the first time since Minister Edhy took office. According to him, this is a sign that the modus operandi and movement of illegal-fishing vessels are very dynamic. In addition, during a pandemic, theft continues.
"We are guarding the Sulawesi Sea, they are moving towards the Pacific Ocean. Thank God, our officers have detected this movement from the Directorate General of PSDKP. The team's preparedness in the field should be appreciated," he said.
Minister Edhy explained that even though the KKP experienced a limited fleet of supervisory vessels, even so, Edhy made sure that supervision was carried out as much as possible.
"With this arrest, in the future we will intensify in other water areas including WPP 718, Arafura Sea," he said.
During almost one year of Minister Edhy's leadership, the KKP, through the Directorate General of Marine and Fisheries Resources Monitoring (PSDKP), managed to catch 74 illegal fishing vessels. Of that number, 56 of them are foreign fishing vessels, the rest are Indonesian fishing vessels.
The fishing vessels with foreign flags that were caught consisted of 27 KIA Vietnam, 16 Philippines, 13 Malaysia, and 1 Taiwan. This series of arrests was due to the persistence of the patrol team, supported by technology, and coordination with other agencies such as Polairud, Bakamla, and the Indonesian Navy.
"The KKP remains and will always be serious about maintaining the sovereignty of Indonesia's fisheries management. There is no room for fish thieves in our seas," he said.
For information, of all illegal-fishing vessels that have been caught; 17 of them have been decided by the court (inkracht); one ship was sunk for trying to escape when captured; 15 ships were given administrative sanctions; and the rest are still undergoing legal proceedings at the prosecutor's office and at trial.
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