Two Vietnamese Boats Seized For Poaching Fish in Kalimantan

W KALIMANTAN, INDONESIA, June 30 (Antara)- The West Kalimantan marine police have caught two Vietnamese boats found illegally fishing in the Natuna waters, Riau Islands. West Kalimantan Police Command Chief Brigadier General Arief Sulistyanto stated here on Tuesday that the marine police had seized KM Tang Ving 1365, with Huyk Van Vui as the skipper and KM Tang Ving 91089 TS, with Trang Dat Nguyen Song as the skipper and a total of 26 crew members. "The two boats have a capacity of around 100 gross tons. Apart from detaining the 26 crew members and skippers, we also confiscated a trawler and several flags including Indonesian and Malaysian flags. As a cover up, the boats were bearing Indonesian flags when they were seized by the marine police," he revealed. He affirmed that the police have also confiscated five tons of fish catch from the two boats. Brigadier General Arief Sulistyanto stated that the foreign fishermen may face a maximum jail term of up to eight years and a maximum fine of Rp20 billion. "We will immediately take action, which includes coordinating with the immigration office and the Vietnamese embassy to detain the fishermen while awaiting the judicial process to commence," he said. According to data provided by the fisheries ministry, high rate of illegal fishing cases have been reported in the waters of West Kalimantan. Due to their rich fish supply, Natuna waters, Arafura waters in the eastern region, and North Sulawesi waters are the regions in Indonesia that are prone to illegal fishing activities conducted by foreign fishermen. West Kalimantan is included in Zone III along with Natuna, Karimata, and South China Sea, with fish catch potential reaching one million tons per year. The region has a maritime territory spanning 26 thousand square kilometers and stretches up to the South China Sea. --Antara