Water Patrol Police Nab Four Vietnamese Boats For Poaching

Batam, Riau Islands, Jan 9 (Antara) - Indonesian water patrol police have nabbed four Vietnam-flagged boats for poaching using trawlers in Riau Islands waters. "They do not have the required documents for fishing in Indonesian waters. We seized the four boats and arrested 61 Vietnamese crew members as well as three tons of fish that they had poached," stated Commander of Water Patrol Boat Bisma 8001 Adjunct Senior Commissioner Sigit N Hidayat, here on Thursday. They were nabbed on January 4, at two separate locations, around 15 miles off Jemaja Isle, Anambas District, Riau Islands, he confirmed. "The loss from fish that has been caught amounts to hundreds of millions. But, the environmental loss due to the trawlers that they had used is even worse," the commander reiterated. The boats were equipped with sophisticated technology that could detect the presence of fish, he added. Before poaching, the Vietnamese boats had been to the Batam maritime affairs and fisheries office to obtain permits to fish in the Riau Islands waters, but they were turned down by the local authorities. On their way back to Vietnam, however, they poached Indonesia`s fish, he added. Reportedly, the Vietnamese boats were often been spotted poaching in the Indonesian waters since last September. Meanwhile, in July last year, four Thai fishing boats were caught poaching in the seas off eastern Aceh by the Indonesian maritime authorities. The KM Kasiasin I (80 GT), KM Kasiasin 2 (80 GT), KM Chayanon 1 (80 GT) and KM Chayanon 2 (80 GT) were caught, stated the maritime and fishery resources director general Syahrin Abdurrahman in Belawan, last year. The boats were seized with 36 crewmen including 8 Thai and 28 Myanmar citizens. The fishing boats, which had no operational permits, used trawlers which are banned in Indonesia.