"We are still detaining the three boats and crew members for further investigation process," Head of Belawan`s Marine and Fisher Resource Supervision Station Mukhtar said here Monday.
The Malaysian boats are being held at the Samudera Belawan fishery seaport`s pier. The three boats are respectively 60-GT MV KHF 1908 with Joe Heng as its skipper, 40-GT MV SLFA 3884 with skipper Ha Lee, and 30-GT MV SLFA 4768 with skipper Herbort Jeffery.
Over tens of their crew members include Indonesians and Thais.
Indonesian patrol boats Hiu 003 and Hiu 009 nabbed them for having no legal documents of Fishery Business License (SIUP) and Fish Catch License (SIPI) from the Indonesian Government. Besides, the neighboring country`s boats also used trawls which are banned by the Indonesian authorities.
Their presence in the Indonesian Exclusive Economic Zone (ZEEI) in Malacca Strait is a violation of Law No. 45/2009 on the change of Law No. 31/2004 on Fishery.
"The Directorate General of Marine and Fishery Resource Supervision is expected to transfer the case to the Belawan Marine and Fishery Resource Supervision (PDSKP) for further investigation process and filing," he said.
"Since January 2011, the Belawan PDSKP has nabbed five Malaysian fishing boats for investigation in line with the existing regulations," he added.
Mukthar confirmed that the directorate general is intensifying marine patrol to prevent poaching in ZEEI waters including in eastern waters of northern Sumatra Island.
Meanwhile, Indonesian fisheries authorities have caught five Vietnamese fishing boats while poaching fish in the Natuna waters.
"Of the five fishing boats, one was used to repatriate 45 crew members to their country, while four others were taken to the Pontianak port for legal process," Head of the Pontianak Marine and Fishery Resources Supervision and Control Office (P2SDKP) Bambang Nugroho said in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, Sunday (April 24). (*)
Editor: Aditia Maruli Radja
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
