The Jakarta Post 17 Mar 10;
Large foreign fishing fleets in Indonesian waters, some illegally flying the Indonesian flag, are forcing local traditional fishermen to seek catches in the waters of neighboring countries, a discussion concluded.
Regulations stipulate that local fishermen should make up 70 percent of the crew on an Indonesian-flagged fishing vessel, while foreign vessels violate this by having more foreign crew members.
“Illegal fishing practices and overfishing are seriously depleting fish stocks in Indonesian waters,” Purwanto from the Research Center for Capture Fisheries said Monday. He was speaking at a meeting on developing cooperation between Indonesian and Australian officials.
To minimize illegal fishing practices in Indonesian waters, the Indonesian government in 2002 began beefing up surveillance and law enforcement and has also improved fishery management.
These steps have led to the decline of catch losses in Arafura, Papua and other regions. The catch losses in demersal (organisms living close to the seabed) fishing also dropped from 32.6 percent to 3.3 percent in 2008. Shrimp fishery catch losses have declined more than 10 percent since 2003.
Indonesia and Australia signed an MoU in 1974 giving Indonesian traditional fishermen permission to fish 12 miles off Ashmore Reef, Cartier Islet, Scott Reef, Seringapatam Reef and Browse Islet in Australian waters.
Traditional fishermen are defined as fishermen who have harvest fish and sedentary organisms such as coral in Australian waters using methods that have become tradition over time.
Indonesian traditional fishermen come predominantly from Bajo in North Sulawesi, Makassar in South Sulawesi, Probolinggo in East Java, and Alor in East Nusa Tenggara.
“This definition by method rather than by identity has been misused by some fishermen who are cannot be classified as traditional fishermen,” James Fox from the Australian National University said at the meeting.
Another official said that some Indonesian fishermen breached the agreement by fishing for sedentary organisms in Australian waters.
“They also use nontraditional vessels and equipment. Some even fish for sharks in Australian waters, catch birds and sea turtles, or take their eggs,” he said.
A 2009 meeting in Indonesia discussing ways to prevent violations of the MoU, as well as managing traditional fishermen, suggested the identification and registration of traditional fishermen, the standardization of equipment used in the fishing, and the specific locations allowed for fishing. The meeting also suggested that Indonesia provide navigation and communication systems to help control traditional fishermen.
