Ambon, Hilton News –
The Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (MMAF) arrested a Russian-flagged fishing vessel that stole fish in the Arafura Sea, Aru, Maluku, on the Australia-Indonesia border, Sunday (19/5) evening.
The Whale 01 Surveillance Ship (KP) belonging to the MMAF was deployed to the Australia-Indonesia border area. KP Paus 01 found that the foreign fishing vessel that was the target of the month-long operation was fishing.
The chase was dramatic. Officers fired several shots into the air to ask the ship’s captain to stop the ship immediately. However, the officer’s request was not heeded and the ship continued to hit the gas.
The CTF also deployed a helicopter that chased the ship from the air. The 870 GT fishing boat captained by WZJ decided to stop the ship.
Based on the manifest, the foreign fishing vessel was carrying about 12 Russian crew and 18 Indonesian crew.
One by one the crew members were immediately secured and evacuated to KP Paus 01 belonging to the KKP. They will undergo intensive checks related to illegal fishing to inspection of ship shipping document permits.
Acting Director General of Marine Resources and Fisheries Supervision (PSDKP) of the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries Pung Nugroho said the foreign fishing vessel had been the target of operations since one month ago.
“These foreign fishing vessels have been our target for a month, we managed to catch them at 16 miles below the boundary of Australian waters,” he said through a written statement on Monday (20/5).
Pung said the foreign fishing vessel was found carrying a cargo of about 30 tons of various types of fish. This ship uses prohibited fishing equipment aka trawl that can damage coral reefs.
According to him, fishing with prohibited equipment made small fishermen who were looking for fish around the waters of Aru Maluku had complained.
He said the arrest of foreign fishing vessels after the Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Sakti Trenggono instructed to maintain ecological preservation so that children and grandchildren could enjoy abundant fish in Indonesian seas.
(sai/fra)
[Image:HN Video]