Indonesia seizes 72 boats over illegal fishing in 2021

JAKARTA, Indonesia

Indonesia’s maritime security agency has detained 72 boats, including 12 foreign vessels, over alleged illegal fishing in the country’s waters since the beginning of 2021, a ministry said on Friday.

In a statement, the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry said the 12 foreign vessels included five Malaysian-flagged and seven Vietnamese-flagged boats.

The other 60 local boats were seized for not having legal documents or not having proper fishing gear, the ministry added.

Antam Novambar, the acting director-general of the Marine Resources and Fisheries Monitoring, said that legal proceedings have been initiated.

He added that the ministry has directed his department to take firm action against boats found to have violated the rules.

*Writing by Maria Elisa Hospita from Anadolu Agency's Indonesian language service​​​​​