Transhipment Will Remain Prohibited: Fisheries Minister

Jakarta, Feb 28 (Antara) - The Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti has reiterated that transhipment at sea will remain prohibited because it has the potential to hurt Indonesian fish resources and drive them to other areas abroad. "Although transhipment is permitted under very strict terms and procedures, it does not guarantee that the problem of illegal fishing will be resolved," the minister said in a written statement on Saturday. She noted that if the transhipment is permitted, business players will definitely think twice and adopt a variety of methods to send fish catches directly abroad without them landing at the Indonesian fish ports first. Pudjiastuti also pointed out that transhipment cases across all Indonesian waters are reported frequently. "In the Bitung waters in North Sulawesi, for example, a lot of tuna from Indonesia is brought to General Santos in the Philippines through the transhipment mode at the territorial waters of border area," she noted. The People's Coalition for Fisheries Justice (KIARA) had stated earlier that the minister's policy on the prohibition of transhipment at sea should not be relaxed. "The minister should not be allowed to change her stance on transhipment," Kiara Secretary General Abdul Halim said recently. According to him, transhipment will affect state revenue due to the loss of non-tax revenues paid to the Marine and Fisheries Ministry.