BeritaSore, Sen, Apr 6, 2009
In the runup to the upcoming World Ocean Conference (WOC) in Manado, North Sulawesi, Indonesia has been urged to make use of the event to ask other countries to stop illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing.
“The government should be able to make use of the opportunity to secure a commitment against IUU fishing,” secretary general of the People’s Coalition for Fishery Justice (Kiara), Riza Damanik, said in a press briefing in connection with the WOC here on Friday. Riza said the government had to abandon its risky diplomacy of expecting aid funds for the rehabilitation of coral reefs to fight global warming. The government, Riza said, needs to act wisely by making use of the WOC in Manado on May 11-15 2009 to demand 10 countries to stop poaching in Indonesia.
In the past 10 years foreign fishing vessels from 10 countries had been poaching in Indonesian waters. Those countries included Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, Korea, China, Taiwan, Panama, Myanmar and Malaysia.”The crisis in our seas is related to crimes committed in the seas. Because of illegal fishing we have lost 50 percent of our marine resources,” Reza said. The chairman of the Anti-Debt Coalition, Dani Setiawan, meanwhile, said Indonesia must be able to control its territorial sea.
It means, he said, Indonesia must not use the WOC to seek loans because it is feared they would make the country to lose its control of its sea. The director general of supervision and control of marine resources and fishery, Aji Sularso, said earlier that most vessels conducted illegal fishing in the country’s waters so far came from Vietnam.
He said however that it was Thailand that had exploited most of Indonesian fishery resources. He said Thailand already had a had strong network in the country. Earlier, former Minister of Maritime Exploration sSarwono Kusumaatmadja said illegal fishing by foreigners in Indonesian waters had cost the country an estimated US$4 billion in revenue every year.
Sarwono noted that the foreigners were getting more of Indonesia’s maritime resources than Indonesians themselves, while this country itself only earned some US$2.2 billion from its fishing sector.
“It’s our water and fish, but we ourselves are losing. It’s ridiculous, he said, adding that illegal fishing activities were mostly committed by foreign poachers from the Philippines, Thailand, Taiwan and China and some other neighboring countries that had no cooperation agreement with the government of Indonesia.
In fact, the poachers often used high technology in fishing, causing difficulty to Indonesian patrol boats to detect their presence. More tragic is that the poachers have shown no fear of Indonesian patrols, who are either outnumbered or poorly armed, director general of monitoring and control at the marine and fishery ministry, Aji Sularso, said earlier.
“The illegal fishermen show no respect for our national law. The shoot-and-sink policy will be part of a show of force to deter them,” he said. Aji said illegal fishing had become out of control, as it was “threatening Indonesia’s economic and territorial sovereignty”.
Under the Indonesian fishery Law No. 31/2004 on fisheries, the ministry’s patrol guards are authorized to carry guns. But in particular, the law concerned is designed to accommodate the needs and challenges of developing the fishing industry and to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal fishing.
The Indonesian government has been criticized for being “too lenient” in releasing and allowing Filipino fishermen to repatriate and reunite with their families. They would usually give one of two reasons, either citing humanitarian reasons or a lack of funds to provide basic needs and shelter. In addition, hundreds of confiscated foreign-flagged fishing vessels are now crowding dozens of seaports across Indonesia.
They are corroding, if not sinking and already wrecked, while waiting for legal processing, which could take years to complete. But no specific budget has been allocated for their maintenance.
Indonesia, which loses US$4 billion a year to poaching, is desperate to beef up its fishery patrol fleet, which currently consists of only 21 vessels. Securing the fishing boats could at least reduce the losses the country suffers.
Last year the government established five ad hoc fishery courts in Jakarta, Medan (North Sumatra), Pontianak, Tual island in Maluku and Bitung (North Sulawesi) in a bid to cut short the prolonged legal process against poachers, particularly those from overseas.
However, the ad hoc courts do not help achieve the goal as law enforcers are often divided over how to settle poaching cases. Maintaining this policy would risk Indonesia’s interest, not only will it send the wrong message on how Indonesia upholds the law, but it could also lead to an increase in the frequency of IUU in Indonesia.
Unfortunately, until now Indonesia has not established a special committee to deal with illegal fishing cases. The government tends to rely on a sectoral approach in handling such cases. Coordination between related government agencies is weak and would not be applied on a regular basis. A fisheries court has not been established either.
Indonesia and the Philippines have established a mechanism of Joint Commission on bilateral cooperation. The two countries have also signed an MoU on Marine and Fisheries Cooperation in General Santos, the Philippines, on Feb. 23, 2006. However, the two countries have not yet established a bilateral arrangement to table particular issues of fishermen. ( ant/ Eliswan Azly )
