DPR urges modern fishing vessels for IUU hotspots
The proposal targets Natuna, the Arafura Sea, the Philippine border and the Pacific, as vessels above 30 GT total about 3,600.
Rokhmin Dahuri, a member of Commission IV of the DPR RI, urged that the procurement of modern fishing vessels be directed to areas vulnerable to illegal fishing, rather than regions already hit by overfishing. In a working meeting with the Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries in Jakarta on Thursday, he named Natuna, the Arafura Sea, border areas with the Philippines, and Pacific waters as priority locations for the fleet. Rokhmin said illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing remains widespread and has not been handled seriously. He proposed two steps: expanding the presence of Indonesian fishermen through a modern fleet, including from the United Kingdom Government's soft-loan scheme, and strengthening maritime patrol and law enforcement operations. Of Indonesia's roughly 800,000 fishing vessels, those above 30 gross ton were said to total only about 3,600.