REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, BANDARLAMPUNG -- Navy Chief of Staff Admiral Marsetio declared that all Indonesian Navy warships (KRI's) were ready to adopt stringent measures to stamp out illegal fishing activities in accordance with President Joko Widodo's order.

"All the warships are ready. The budget for fuel has been approved," Marsetio revealed here on Thursday.

He explained that about 147 ships were ready to be operated, and the government would cater to all the fuel and vessel operational needs, and it has been included in the 2015 budget.

Earlier, the operational budget was only able to meet 27 percent of the fuel requirements of the warships.

After the memorandum of understanding (MoU) was inked between the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry and the Navy, the government announced its commitment to meet the operational needs of warships in a bid to curb illegal fishing.

The Navy commander explained the Navy's three functions in safeguarding the maritime region of Indonesia: sovereignty enforcement, law enforcement, and diplomacy.

Curbing illegal fishing activities was part of the law enforcement function in the maritime region of Indonesia.

This was revealed during a short working visit of Chief of Naval Staff (Kasal) Admiral Marsetio to the third Infantry Brigade Headquarters in Piabung, Pesawaran District.

It was part of a working visit of Kasal to three regions in Indonesia: Surabaya, Lampung, and Palembang.

In a working visit, the Navy commander held a dialogue with hundreds of marines in Piabung, during which he promised to improve their welfare in 2015.

Earlier, the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry (KKP) was using a satellite to detect illegal fishing by foreign ships in Indonesian waters, remarked Head of Central Research and Development for KKP Aryo Hanggono.

"According to radar satellite imaging, hundreds of illegal ships were still discovered in Indonesian waters such as the Natuna or Sulawesi Islands," he noted here on Wednesday.

The satellite can capture images at a resolution of up to three meters.

Aryo pointed out that illegal fishing conducted by foreign ships can be discovered easily as the ministry can identify legal ships.

"So, we have transmitted the data related to legal ships. Using the satellite, we can distinguish between ships having transmitters and those not having a transmitter provided by us. The ship, which does not have the transmitter, is an illegal ship," he stated.

Aryo emphasized that illegal fishing in several parts is carried out in accordance with the ship size, the equipment used in fishing, unreported fish catching, or illegal ships.

"A legal ship was registered as a 40-meter-long vessel, but in reality, it was 200 meters. A legal ship was found that does not report its fish catch. There are legal ships that do not report about their illegal equipment, and there are illegal ships without transmitters," he explained.

Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti affirmed that Indonesia losses US$12.5 billion to US$20 billion yearly as a result of illegal fishing.

Ikuti Whatsapp Channel Republika