Cirebon, W Java, (Antara)- A total of 327 foreign fishing boats have been sunken so far, for poaching in Indonesian waters, according to Sjarief Widjaja, director general for capture fisheries of the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry.
Since the last two years, the ministry had been concentrating on the country's sovereignty to guard the nation's fish stock that was depleting because of illegal fishing activities, he said here, recently.
"After we had checked in the seas, particularly in the remote regions which are far from our observation, there were some 10 thousand foreign fishing boats operating in Indonesian waters illegally," he said.
Based on the satellite imagery and monitoring, the foreign fishing boats weighed up to 200-300 GT and had fishing nets up to nearly 150 km long.
"Every time they pulled their fishing nets, some 100 tons of fish were caught. If we compare with our fishermen, they just brought home 20-50 kg of fish after fishing for one day," he said.
The sinking of 327 foreign fishing boats have deterred other poachers, he said.
Fishing stocks in Indonesian waters particularly in regions such as Ambon, Merauke, Timika, Biak, and Natuna, have started to improve currently, he added.
In 2013, the national fish stock was around 6.5 million tons.
Currently, based on results of a study carried out by an independent team, the fish stock has increased to 12.5 million tons, or a double within three years.
The Joko Widodo (Jokowi) administration has declared a war against illegal fishing activities since the inauguration of the president in October 2014.
The Government has vowed to develop Indonesia into a global maritime axis.
The government has claimed that the illegal fishing activities in the country's waters had caused a loss of hundreds of trillions of rupiahs a year to the state.(*)
