Vietnamese And Thai Fishermen Are Increasingly Daring To Plunder The Natuna Sea

BETWEEN/ILLUSTRATION

NATUNA - Head of the Fishermen's Alliance of Natuna Regency, Riau Islands, Herman said dozens of foreign fishing vessels (KIA) from Vietnam and Thailand are increasingly daring to plunder marine products from the outer islands of Indonesia.

"It's as if they were left alone. Almost every day there are KIA in the Natuna Sea," said Herman, quoted by Antara, Sunday, June 6.

He said the foreign fishing boat had almost circled the Natuna Sea. The average is in the East and North of Natuna Island.

"The point is that it is still in our capture area," said Heerman.

According to him, the existence of KIA is very detrimental to the catch of Natuna fishermen, because it can damage marine life due to the use of tiger trawls

In addition, foreign vessels have a capacity of 50 to 100 GT, while local fishing boats only have a capacity of 20 to 30 GT.

"This also concerns the dignity of the Republic of Indonesia. When foreign ships are free to roam in our seas without permission," he said.

Not only that, intimidation from Thai and Vietnamese fishermen is also often experienced by Natuna fishermen.

Local fishermen are often chased and even almost hit, because the foreign fishermen feel disturbed by the activities of local fishermen.

"Afraid to prevent them from spreading the trawler," said Herman.

Herman admitted that he had repeatedly reported this incident to the Regional Government, the Central Government, and various relevant stakeholders. However, he did not know whether this was followed up or not.

He also did not deny that the supervision by the authorities in the Natuna Sea was maximal, but it needed to be increased so that foreign fishermen did not run rampant in exploiting the natural wealth of the sea.

"Actually, I'm tired of reporting, later there will be certain people who are angry," he asserted.