REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The Ministry of Marine and Fishery Affairs has seized two Thai foreign fishing boats in Natuna Sea, Riau Islands waters, on February 16, 2015, at 8 a.m. local time.

"The Thai foreign fishing boats were confiscated by Hiu Macan Tutul Surveillance Vessel during the fishery and ocean resources surveillance operation in Natuna waters," Director General of Fishery and Marine Resources Surveillance of the Ministry Asep Burhanuddin stated recently.

The confiscated boats are MV Sudita having a gross tonnage (GT) of 102 tons and 11 Thai crew members, while the MV Jala Komira 807 has a GT of 103 tons and has a 20-member Thai crew.

The officers believed that the boats had conducted illegal fishing in the Indonesian territory without having legal fishing permit letters from the Indonesian government. The officers have escorted the vessels to Pontianak of West Kalimantan for further legal action by the fishery department.

Previously, the ministry had seized 14 illegal fishing boats, which constituted seven foreign vessels and seven Indonesian vessels during the operation conducted on January 21-25, 2015. "The arrested foreign vessels included four Vietnamese boats, two Philippines boats, and a Thai ship," Burhanuddin stated.

The Vietnamese boats were seized in Natuna waters on January 22, 2015, with a total of 35 crew members. The officer has escorted the ships to Pontianak.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian surveillance vessel confiscated two Philippines fishing vessels carrying 19 crew members in the Sulawesi Sea, on January 25, 2015, and the vessels were escorted to the Bitung Ministry Base.

Additionally, the ministry has seized Thai vessel KM 026 in the eastern Lhokseumawe waters of Aceh Province, on January 25, 2015. The ship was escorted to the Lampulo Ministry Base for further legal action.

Indonesia remains committed to completely eradicating illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities in its territorial waters.

The IUU fishing respects neither national boundaries nor international attempts to manage fishing in the high seas and is a serious global problem that contributes to overfishing, creates unfair competition, and impedes sustainable fisheries. Therefore, Marine Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti said Indonesia's strict encouragement for the eradication of such criminal acts should be understandable.

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