INDONESIA DEMONSTRATES ZERO TOLERANCE AGAINST ILLEGAL FISHING by Fardah

Jakarta, April 21, 2016 (Antara) - Indonesia, under the administration of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi), has demonstrated zero tolerance against illegal fishing activities in its seas.

        Since 2015, the government has blown up and sunk at least 174 fishing boats, mostly foreign fishing vessels, for poaching in Indonesian waters.

        During a visit to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in London, on April 19, President Jokowi reiterated Indonesia's firm stance against illegal fishing as it violated the country's sovereignty and harmed the marine environment of the Indonesian waters.

        "Especially with regard to maritime resources, we will continue to uphold a firm stance to not tolerate any illegal fishing activities in our waters," Jokowi stated before delegates from 107 member states and 53 non-governmental organizations in his address to the IMO's Marine Environment Protection Committee.

        Earlier, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti had stated that the government will continue to take firm action by destroying fishing boats caught illegally operating in Indonesian waters to preserve its marine resources.

        "The government will not relax the measures against illegal fishing," the minister affirmed.

        Recently, the Illegal Fishing Eradication Task Force blew up and sank 23 more foreign fishing boats for poaching in the Indonesian maritime territory.

        The 23 vessels, comprising 13 Vietnamese and 10 Malaysian boats, were destroyed in seven separate areas: five boats off Batam, two off Tarempa and eight off Ranai of Riau islands, three off Langsa of Aceh, two off Tarakan of North Kalimantan, one off Belawan of North Sumatra, and two off Pontianak of West Kalimantan. 
   Besides implementing stringent measures against poachers, the government is also focusing its efforts on improving the welfare of fishermen by building fishing villages and providing three thousand boats.

        "In addition to combating illegal fishing, the government is making every effort to improve the fishermen's welfare," Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Rizal Ramli stated.

        The government will build fishing villages as part of a pilot project in Indramayu, West Java.

        "We will also build some three thousand boats for fishermen, and they will be distributed through fishing cooperatives," he revealed.

        The government has also encouraged fishermen and their families to avail healthcare services.  
    Speaking before the IMO's Committee members, the president also outlined Indonesia's national strategy for maritime development and confirmed his support for the IMO.

        Sustainable management of the world's oceans will be crucial to global development, the president affirmed.

        "Indonesia believes the future of global prosperity depends on how we manage the sea. That future can be secured by taking care of the sea as our common heritage. We can do this through international cooperation, including at the IMO," he noted.

        Indonesia will continue to play an active role in the IMO, President Jokowi emphasized, pointed to the country's ratification of the Ballast Water Management Convention last year.

        "We realize that the sustainable utilization of maritime resources must be carried out for the benefit of our people. We are aware of our responsibility, as a member of the international society, to ensure maritime sustainability. We also realize that, as a power between two oceans, we must take part in ensuring the safety of international navigation. In this context, Indonesia views the IMO and our membership in it as important," he affirmed.

        Comprising over 17 thousand islands, Indonesia is striving to unite the nation by building inter-island connectivity.

        As part of the sea toll development program, the country has been constructing new seaports, upgrading the existing harbors, adding more cargo and passenger ships, and modernizing its seaport management, he remarked.

        "All these steps are aimed at accelerating and evenly distributing Indonesia's economic growth and at making them more efficient and competitive," he stated.

        Since last year, the government has constructed 27 new seaports, and 68 more are still under construction in North Maluku, Papua, East Nusa Tenggara, and Sulawesi, among others.

        "Right now, we are adding 200 patrol, cargo, passenger, and navigation boats," he remarked.

        Maritime infrastructure development is a crucial part of the nation's efforts to restore its identity as a maritime nation, he stated.

        Strategically located between the Indian and Pacific oceans, Indonesia is a hub of international shipping, with more than 60 thousand ships passing the country's waters every year.

        He said the government had planned to create more qualified sailors, despite the country currently having the world's second-largest number of ship crew members, reaching 575 thousand.

        Jokowi addressed IMO's Marine Environment Protection Committee  at the invitation of IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim.

        The visit was part of Lim's initiative to raise awareness of the Organization within the broader audience of global leadership.

        IMO is a United Nations specialized agency with responsibility for ship safety, maritime security and prevention of pollution from ships.

        Since taking office at the beginning of this year,  Lim has stressed his commitment that IMO can, and should, be the catalyst for dialogue and communication across all areas of maritime policy and regulation, breaking down the tendency for governments, industry and other stakeholders to operate in silos.

        By so doing, he believes, IMO can simultaneously serve the interests of the environment, of society and of the economy - which have been identified as the three pillars of sustainability. These will become increasingly important for the Organization and its members as we more fully embrace the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

        This year's World Maritime Day theme is "Shipping: indispensable to the world",  focusing on the critical link between shipping and global society and to raise awareness of the relevance of the role of IMO as the global regulatory body for international shipping. ***1***
(f001/INE/o001)
EDITED BY INE
 21-04-2016 14:17:11