RI stepping up efforts to fight illegal fishing

Antara News, Tuesday, November 17, 2009 18:13 WIB

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry (DKP) is working closely with the coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs to fight illegal, unregulated, unreported (IUU) fishing practices in the country, a cabinet minister said.

"I have met with the coordinating minister. He promised to consult the president over the efforts to combat IUU fishing practices," DKP Minister Fadel Muhammad said.

Fadel said that with a close cooperation in cracking down on IUU fishing practices with the coordinating minister, the arrests of poachers in Indonesian waters or in Indonesia`s exclusive economic zones could be made by the navy officers or by the water police.

He hoped that civilian investigators (PPNS) of the DKP would concentrate on supervising marine resources such as fish and coral reefs.

"But it would all depend on the president. We will wait and see its developments later. What I want is that our supervision should be directed on this so that I can focus on handling the welfare of fishermen," he added.

He said that the problem of restricted supervision facilities to crack down on IUU fishing practices would be resolved together with the coordinating minister.

The Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DKP) under its new chief, Fadel Muhammad, has come up with an ambitious plan to raise fish production by over 300 percent and `transform` the country into the world`s biggest fish production center in the coming five years.

"Indonesia should become a center of fish production so that it could control the world`s fish trade," the minister said on Monday.