GOVT PAYS MEMBERSHIP FEES OF RP2 BILLION TO IOTC

Denpasar, Bali, Jan 3 (ANTARA) - The government pays Rp2 billion in annual membership fees to the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC), a Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry official said.

"The fund is incorporated with the budget of the Foreign Ministry so that the payment of fees to the organization is often late," the ministry's director general of fish catchments, Dedy Sutisna, said at Benoa Port in Bali late Saturday.

Because of the lateness, the Indonesian delegation was not allowed to take part in IOTC meetings, he said.

In fact, the meetings were very important to discuss the quotas of tuna catchment in the Indian Ocean and other matters related to tuna, he said.
Dedy hoped in the future the fees could be jointly borne by the government and tuna fishing companies operating in high seas.

By doing so, this would not only alleviate the government's financial burden but also enable it to pay the fees on time, he said.

As a full-fledged member of the IOTC, Indonesia had the chance to benefit from fishery resources in high seas while at the same time it was obliged to control effectively fishing ships registered with the organization, he said.

A total of 874 Indonesian tuna fishing ships consisting of 871 long-line ships and 3 purse seine ships held permits to operate in the Indian Ocean, he said.

Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Fadel Muhammad said he would soon coordinate with Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa in taking over the responsibility to pay membership fees to the IOTC.