8 Traditional Fishermen From Natuna Who Catch Fish In Malaysia Arrested

Illustration-(Photo: DOK ANTARA)

Three traditional fishing boats from Natuna Regency, Riau Islands (Kepri) were arrested in Malaysian waters. Deputy Regent Natuna Rodhial Huda said the total fishermen on the three ships were eight people. He said the ship that was arrested had a capacity of 5 GT (Gross Tonage) and the fishing gear used was a fishing rod. The fishermen were allegedly arrested by the Malaysian Maritime Power Strengthening Agency on April 18, 2024, while catching fish in the waters of the neighboring country. "They entered Malaysian territory," he said in Natuna, Antara, Monday, April 22. He said, his party had communicated with the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia (Konjen) in Cat Malaysia, to help monitor the legal developments that would be imposed on fishermen. "We have communicated verbally, later we will also write as we did in the same case, which happened some time ago," he said. He explained that his party will also communicate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Kemenlu) to help communicate with the Malaysian side so that the punishment given to fishermen is not severe. According to him, the Governments of Indonesia and Malaysia have collaborated on capture areas. The essence of the agreement is that Indonesian fishermen with certain capacities are allowed to move in Malaysian waters and vice versa. "We will go to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ask the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to remind the agreement again, so that our fishermen get convenience and relief and this is used as a reference by APMM (Malay law enforcers) in determining the punishments that will be imposed on fishermen," he added.

According to Rodhial, these incidents have often occurred, therefore he reminded fishermen to be more careful in carrying out their work and always pay attention to GPS so as not to enter other countries' territory. "This is the third time, if you study in the previous case, the only thing that was detained was the tekong," he said.