Gov’t Sinks 23 More Illegal Fishing Boats

Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Susi Pudjiastuti accompanied by Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Rizal Ramli leads the sinking of 23 illegal fishing boats, at the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Jakarta, on Tuesday (5/4)

The Government, through the Illegal Fishing Task Force (Satgas 115), sunk 23 more illegal fishing boats on Tuesday (5/4) at 11.00 a.m. Western Indonesian Time, which 13 of them were Vietnamese-flagged and 10 of them were Malaysian-flagged boats.

The sinking of 23 boats took place in seven different locations, among others: five boats in Batam (Riau Islands), two boats in Tarempa (Riau Islands), three boats in Langsa (Aceh), two boats in Tarakan (North Kalimantan), one boat in Belawan (North Sumatra), two boats in Pontianak (West Kalimantan), and eight boats in Ranai (Riau Islands).

Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Susi Pudjiastuti as the Commander of Satgas 115 gave a command via online to sink the boats, from the Marine Resources and Fisheries Surveillance Task Force (PSDKP) of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, located at Mina Bahari IV Building, Fl.12, Jakarta. Also attending the occasion was Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Rizal Ramli.

Susi asserted that the Government will continue to sink foreign boats which steal our fish in Indonesian waters as an effort to preserve national marine resources.

“The Government will not stop to eradicate illegal fishing boats in order to manifest the sea as the future of the nation,” Minister Susi said.

The act to sink illegal fishing boats refers to Article 76A of Law Number 45 of 2009 on the Amendment of Fisheries Law Number 31 of 2004 which says: ‘objects and/or tools used in and or resulting from fisheries criminal offenses can be seized for the state or destroyed after obtaining the approval of the chairman of the district court, and based on court ruling having had permanent legal force (inkracht) as stipulated in the Criminal Procedure Code (KUHAP)’.

The sinking is conducted based on the support and intensive cooperation between all elements in Satgas 115, including Indonesian National Navy, Indonesian National Police (Polri), Maritime Security Board (Bakamla), Attorney General, and other related institutions. The support was manifested by providing KKP monitoring boats, Indonesian National Navy warships, and boats from Polri and Bakamla. (Biro Kerjasama dan Humas KKP/RMI/ES) (RAS/MMB/YM/Naster)