Indonesia calls on Asia-Pacific nations to fight illegal fishing

Antara 16 Nov 10;

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Marine and Fishery Affairs Minister Fadel Muhammad has called on Asia and Pacific nations to fight illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing practices.

"Illegal fishing can cause economic, social and ecological losses, as well as undermine a nation`s sovereignty," Minister Fadel Mohammad said according to a press statement here Tuesday.

The minister made the statement when speaking at the Asia Pacific coordinating meeting on "Combating Illegal Fishing and Promotion of the Maritime Economy" in Phuket, Thailand, Monday (Nov 15).

IUU fishing was an organized transnational crime seriously harming Indonesia and other Asia and Pacific countries, he said.

Fadel said Indonesia would retirelessly fight and punish whoever engaged in illegal fishing in its territorial waters, he stated.

The Indonesian government would also practice sustainable fishery management based on the the Minapolitan concept, he said.

Fadel said his ministry had developed the Minapolitan concept which aimed to promote sustainable fishery productivity and cooperativeness to boost the fishery industry.

"With Minapolitan, the fishery industry can be managed in an integrated way , namely covering the pre-catchment, catchment, processing up to marketing phases," he said.

Last June 2010, Indonesia`s marine and fishery affairs ministry announced that it would allocate funds amounting to Rp200 billion to build 28 Special Economic Zones (KEK), fisheries or Minapolitan.

Meanwhile, Secretary General of the People`s Coalition for Fishery Justice (Kiara) Riza Damanik said recently that over the past 15 years, Indonesian waters had been encroached on by illegal fishermen from 10 countries, including six ASEAN member countries.(*)